4th Anniversary

We officially launched in February 2019 but the Hambas themselves were rolled out during March 2019. Happy 4 years!

The pilot to test electric mobility was the first of its kind in Zimbabwe. Within 2 months we could tell that the Hamba had increased economic opportunities in rural Hwedza.

Fadzai, project coordinator, remembers, “With a team of less than 10 people in Hwedza and Harare, we decided to roll out in batches of 10 so that we could meet whatever pressure was going to emanate.
Our CEO [Shantha] had clearly told us that: “there is no course, we are all learning, no-one has the answers to what we are doing."
We knew that we had to figure the answers as a team, excited and nervous to be the pioneers of this technology in Zimbabwe!”

From the beginning MFA have believed in collaboration and partnership. We have benefitted enormously and are grateful for the amazing people who have volunteered their time: from the students who first came, to many who supported crowd funding, to those who gave technical advice and expertise to help us get to this stage.

We’ve come a long way and we’ve got a long way to go!

Thanks to our current sponsors who continue to support as we expand to realise our vision AECF EEP Africa InfraCo Africa Toyota Mobility Foundation Expo 2020 Dubai

Watch a throwback video of the MFA Pilot launch here ⬇️

Women, Power & Mobility Art Exhibition

Harare, 10 March 2023 – An exhibition by prominent Zimbabwean artists to celebrate international women’s month, focusing on rural women’s experience in transport opened today at Nhaka Gallery. -The Exhibition-, aims at reframing the traditional image of a woman walking with a child on her back and a heavy load on her head and is intended to stimulate a rethink of the day-to-day experiences of most rural women with a gender lens perspective. The exhibition is curated with support from the Australian and Swiss Embassies.

With rural women in Africa, still estimated to spend a collective 40 billion hours/ year on walking to fetch water alone-, -the -opening of the exhibition, coincided with this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations, and will shed light on this often-ignored challenge and encourage more priority to be given to women facing transport challenges.

Artwork: Keith Zenda

 The exhibition will take visitors on an immersive journey and show how rural women experience power, transport, and mobility challenges. The exposition will also engage the public, to challenge stereotypes of a rural woman’s life, rethink transport needs and explore new ideas around shared mobility, especially considering the potential of electric transportation.

Lovemore Kambuzi-, Richard Witikani, Nothando Chiwanga, Lillian Magodi-, Yandani Mlilo, Webster Mubayireni and Keith Zenda under the guidance of project coordinator, Rudo Chakanyuka are some of the artists whose work is included in the exhibition. –

Preparations for the exhibition included a two-day workshop in Hwedza community where rural women shared their experiences, how mobility impacts their lives, hopes and aspirations. It allowed artists a chance to understand that what rural women usually make look easy is, in reality, painful and takes up a huge part of their time, limiting their economic activities and access to social services.

““I’m showing their day-to-day life situations as they go through life trying to make ends meet in providing for their children. My work is inspired by the hard work and determination of these women.
One of the artworks shows the efforts being made to make life a bit easier with innovations like the Hamba which seems to be a very empowering project for them””

— Lilian Magodi, Artist

These collective stories inspired the artwork that will be on exhibition from 10 March until the first week of June 2023. The exhibition will be open for tours, available on request, a series of meet the artists and organised thematic panel discussions on transport and gender. -Themes for panel discussions include women’s employment in the transport sector; mainstreaming gender in rural transport; gender responsive urban mobility; challenges and opportunities the role of women in decarbonising the transport sector.

The first in the series was at 11am on 11 March which will include a moderated discussion with women who participated in the workshop. It will explore the creative process for the artists and allow discussion on representation in art.

““It has been exciting working with the artists and visiting the women in Hwedza. It is my hope that this exhibition will capture the beauty and positivity we saw in the community we visited and that the conversations and experiences we had, have been clearly articulated so that our audience will also see and feel what is at the core of the issue. It’s not just about getting from point A to point B, it’s about freedom, its breaking barriers, it’s bringing people together. I’m grateful for this opportunity to be part of such process that highlights challenges, while at the same time celebrating the human – and Woman – spirit.” ”

— Project Coordinator, Rudo Chakanyuka

Artwork: Richard Witikani

““Hwedza community’s got unity and a love of working together to support their life and progress forward. Even though they have some challenges of not having enough resources, they try to push their projects to move forward. Since they live very far from each other, they have had challenges of communicating and working with one another, but are now overcoming this, using the hamba as a means of the transport””

— Webster Mubayireni - Artist 

Technical assistance

For the past 3 weeks, we’ve had engineers, Ethan and Wu, from China helping, teaching and building the skills of our technical team.

Ethan said, “the trip here has really expanded my experience and imagination. I cannot imagine life without grid everywhere, anytime, so here we have met a brand new scenario: how to solve the problem of grid and how to solve mobility of transportation and mobility of energy.

With Mobility for Africa, we think we can make even bigger progress than we first imagined.”

On working with the MFA technicians, Ethan noted that, “firstly they’re very friendly, secondly they move and think very quickly. They are great learners and it’s been rewarding to provide some more knowledge.”

We're so grateful for our experience with Jensen and Wu which highlights the importance of cross cultural technology exchange to skill build, build knowledge and encourage innovative thinking.

Introducing Tecla

We’re thrilled to introduce Tecla Thomo, the newest member to our Mobility for Africa Team as Operations Manager in Chipinge, Zimbabwe.

Whilst working with Dairibord, our partner and one of the largest dairy manufacturing and marketing companies in Zimbabwe, Tecla helped introduce MFA to small-scale farmers in Chipinge who now use the Hamba.  With 26 tricycles already rolled out around the Mayfield Milk Collection site she said, “I am so delighted I’m joining a dream company that allows me to continue my passion which is work with women and women farmers”.

“Most women are living in some kind of vacuum, especially ones in the East [of Zimbabwe]. People look down on women especially within household dynamics but the majority of the workload falls onto women.

And after seeing that most women have to carry the milk canisters, by head, it gave me a drive to do something rather than make these women struggle everyday; the women who are doing the milking, the delivery, AND all the household chores. In most households where a women can’t bring milk, it is usually the children. It’s time to lessen the burden on the women and the girl-child”, explained Tecla. 

She believes that the tricycle is the optimal solution to increase small-scale farming productivity and has made it her mission to enable every small-scale farmer with transportation. 

We’re very lucky to have Tecla, an experienced asset, to help guide us with the scaling of sites in Chipinge. 

Battery swapping

After around 100km it’s time to come for a battery swap. Customers come to the charging station and pay a small fee for a freshly charged battery. The process is very much the same as going to a fuel station for refuelling except our ‘fuel’ fee is MUCH smaller! 

We’re very lucky to have a great team of local on-site and roving technicians who manage the swapping. The team are young, very passionate and always building their skills, experience and knowledge surrounding renewable energy, vehicles and batteries. 

With the growing demand for qualified individuals in the increasing EV industry throughout the continent, we love that we are inspiring local youth (with mechanical knowledge or not!) into this field.

The battery swapping process is smooth and swift so our technicians are kept busy with repair, servicing, and management of our solarchargingstations, purpose-built tricycle (the Hamba) as well as engaging with local customers and communities on a day-to-day basis. 

Factory Updates

The team has been working tirelessly this week to build capacity in our factory for scaling.

This is the first load of our short-term expansion process. With InfraCo Africa’s investment, we will be implementing 400 Hambas, 600 batteries, and 8 new charging stations.

More Hambas, more locations, more Mobility!

MFA (and the Hamba) are on the road to engage with more small-scale farmers and prove how investable the entrepreneurial rural women of Zimbabwe are!

International day of Women and Girls in Science

Marking 2023’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re featuring some of STEM women in our team! For many years a significant gender gap has persisted at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

To increase and retain women in STEM careers, representation, mentoring and industry support are crucial. As we develop and implement our EV Hamba Technician curriculum, and expand our operations, we have great plans to train, encourage and include more women into the technology side of e-mobility and using decentralised renewable energy.

But for now, meet Rumbidzai Chingosho and Carlin Ngandu (Thandi)...

Rumbidzai was interning with us last year and since finishing her Engineering degree at University of Zimbabwe she has continued with us as Junior Engineer. At her university, there was 10 boys to every girl on her course, but she noted “we’re all just as capable”.

Rumbidzai chose engineering “for 2 reasons: One is from a country sustainability perspective: I strongly believe as Zimbabweans we need to fight to reintroduce and rebuild our industries, creating a strong local market that services its populations without being so dependent on the outside world for everything.
And secondly, I like the idea of knowing that I can solve my own problems. Engineering really helps you to be good at problem solving. You have to understand products and environments from all perspectives as well as basic principles.”

Her goal is to be in the renewable energy space. See Rumbidzai pictured below:

Rumbidzai picture by a Hamba in our factory

Thandi has been with MFA since the very beginning. She joined while studying automobile electrics and electronics. Laughing, Thandi said “It was my mum who suggested what I should study. She wanted me to have better opportunities and believes that a lady should stand on her own, be practical and not have to depend on someone!”

When Thandi first joined she did battery swapping, maintenance of the Hamba, attended to breakdowns and inventory. Now, she is focused more on research and community engagement. She explained “I think it combines well, it’s all related and now I understand what I am monitoring with the research and how it feedbacks into how we improve future use.”

Thandi’s message: “I want more woman to be part of the engineering team, to help this project, to help as many people around Zimbabwe and Africa, the WHOLE of Africa. I just love how this project promotes women helping women.”

Find Thandi pictured below.

Thandi on the Hamba in our factory

Wedza Policewomen

This week’s #fridayfeature shines a spotlight on the Hamba-using policewomen of Wedza.

We introduced 7 Hamba to service providers (police, health-practitioners, health-clinics) back in 2020. The MFA team recently caught up with two of the policewomen who use the Hamba at our site in Shaka Hills, some 13km from the Police station.

Before: “Ah! To come here, walking? It would take at least 2, maybe 3 hours to go one way. It would take us a whole day just to travel to one scene, assess and then travel back. Now, it’s just 30 minutes on the Hamba AND not as tiring!”, said one of the policewomen.

Their station services an area of 650km2 with 1 police officer to 1600 people.

As well as scene attendance, they explained how they’ve been able to maximise and grow their campaigning capacity:

“We do as many as we can now. It’s mainly to go around educating and raising awareness. We have focused on abuse: drug, sexual, child and gender based. For now, because it is the rainy season, we have really pushed the road safety campaigns to teach children not to cross rivers. Also included is advising not to travel at night or travelling in groups, especially for the children, so they are less likely to be targeted.”

And what do the community think?

“People are appreciating us using the Hamba. They appreciate it a lot because we are covering the whole place and in a limited time.

There are time constraints on certain crimes. For example, theft. Like if they have been caught, we need to get there quickly in case another crime isn’t committed in the way of harm towards the perpetrator! And people call the station from the comfort of their own home because they know we have the Hamba now and we will be there”.

 Although “comfort” may not be the word to describe reporting a crime, from home, it illustrates a stark contrast for the previous option of seeking safety. Before, even though reporting a crime by phone was still possible, to find safety with Police, people would have trekked several km. Particularly for the abuse-based crimes, the Policewomen suggested that this might have led to reduced crime reporting.

 2-years strong with the Hamba, the policewomen are as busy as ever, reaching and teaching across their jurisdiction.

Focus Group Discussions, Wedza

Last week our Research and Community Engagement team, headed by Dr Dorah Mwenye, went to conduct focus group discussions in Wedza. They were investigating the viability of the Transport and Logistics Services with Hamba in Wedza. 

Hamba users explained how their husbands’ attitudes have changed “he understands that is where our income is coming from, [using the Hamba] even when I come home late he doesn’t complain because he knows and trust that this is where the income is coming from”. 

This perfectly highlights how social perspectives can and are changing when women are empowered - with mobility, with employment, with income. The responses indicated a new trajectory in gender dynamics at the household level. 

An enthusiastic response was received from community members who professed how they “love the Hambas, we’re happy with the services because when you call them they just come there and right on time! They offer door-to-door services so we prefer the Hamba over the Mushikashika (usually honda fit)”. 

The team’s objective is to maintain a focus on on finding out what the challenges are since the T&L drivers started operating so they can be overcome. 

It’s so valuable to sustain our research and community practices to keep in touch with the customers’ needs, help our growth, development and learning on our emobilityrevolution journey! Stay tuned for more in-depth results from the final report. 

Published in Journal of International Consumer Marketing

Find our most recently published article by Tendai Chikweche, Shantha Bloemen and our researcher Dr Dorah Mwengye here:  

Innovative New Product Adoption of Renewable Energy Mobility Products at the Bottom of the Pyramid The Case of Hamba, an Integrated Community-Driven Solution

“Current decision-making models do not cover the processes bottom of the pyramid consumers go through when selecting mobility solutions to address access challenges they face.” 

The article examines the process consumers go through in adopting the Hamba, a community-based renewable energy mobility solution, and developing a decision-making framework. And the overall findings from the research indicate the positive social, environmental, and economic impact of the Mobility for Africa Hamba fleet solution on the livelihoods of the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ consumers.

Follow the link to the article above to read more!

Wedza Transport and Logistics Prize giving

We recently presented a prize giving for the Transport and Logistics (T&L) Drivers in Wedza, Zimbabwe.

The top three performing groups received a hamper to recognise their dedicated work:
1-   Lion
2-   Money Maker
3-   Kubudirira Ishungu

We have 26 drivers (100% women!) divided into 13 Hamba groups. They work closely with Mobility for Africa on a commission and detail each ride for our data collection.

Before the Hamba, the community relied on walking to and from their destinations or the pricey option of Mushikashika (usually a Honda Fit), often quite crammed and not a door-to-door service.

From our data collection it’s evident that the Wedza T&L tend to transport more passengers than cargo: children to school, pregnant women to the clinic, market-goers (sellers and buyers), horticulturalists. The Hamba carries people from ‘all walks of life’ – but now they don’t have to do as much walking!

A big congratulations to our top performing groups and an even bigger thank you for helping us bring mobility solutions to anyone and everyone in this rural community.

Diplomat of the Year Awards

Mobility for Africa were honoured to receive the “Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development” award on behalf of the The Diplomat, Zimbabwe Institute of Diplomacy, Diplomat Business Networking Club and the Diplomat of the Year Awards nomination committee. We were selected for the award for our progress in “sustainable development initiatives and high standard of ethical conduct, integrity and social responsibility”.

The Diplomat of the Year Awards celebrated their 10th edition this year and turned their attention to amplify the call for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They recognised 5 other organisations alongside MFA that positively impacted people’s socio-economic lives in areas of Poverty Alleviation; Peace Building; Economic Inclusion; Gender Equality; Health; Environment and Climate Action.

MFA Founder, Shantha Bloemen, and Lisa Mare were in attendance to accept the award (See pictured below). So exciting to see our efforts being recognised and celebrated amongst others striving for sustainable development!

Polio Immunisations

Last weekend, Sister Edina Shayanewako, a nurse at Igava Clinic, and her colleagues had an extremely busy weekend conducting a #polio #immunisation programme in Marondera, #Zimbabwe.

UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO) issued an “urgent call to action” in November 2022 to avert polio epidemics as COVID-19 has left major disruptions in immunisation services. Both organisations have warned that failure to eradicate polio now will lead to a “global resurgence of the disease, resulting in as many as 200,000 new cases annually, within 10 years”. Immunisation is vital for every child from zero to five years old to eradicate the disease and save people from polio’s adverse, life-altering effects.

The Igava Clinic were working on a target of under 80 children a day last weekend. However, with the help of Hamba, Sister Shayanewako professed how successful the program had been, matching and then going beyond their original target! Her team worked tirelessly to make sure no child was left behind and visited farms across Marondera, many of which were far from the clinic – a time consuming and laborious walk pre-hamba. The hamba was used to conduct door-to-door services, searching for every child under 5 years to make sure everyone got their immunisation!

Marondera is a commercial area where many people are employed at farms. Many parents struggle to get time to take their children for immunisations so were thrilled with the service Sister Shayanewako and her colleagues provided.

“It would not be possible without the help of the Hamba”, Sister Shayanewako maintained. Mobility for Africa are proud we were able to assist by giving the clinic two more Hambas which helped them to meet their targets, making sure that they would not have to leave a child without their dosage. Hambas for health!

For more information on: Polio Eradication

ARE and UNIDO ITPO Germany Publication

Alliance for Rural Electrification and UNIDO ITPO Germany publication "E-Mobility & DRE Innovations in Emerging Economies" 👉🏻bit.ly/DREMobility features Mobility for Africa!
 
We’re really excited to be included as a case study alongside a variety of projects, across different environments, all with adaptable technologies. And being able to share some of our experiences of the challenges, recommendations, and encourage a way forward in the E-Mobility and Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) sectors.
 
With an ever-increasing e-mobility sector, inclusivity and the challenge to bring transport solutions to rural areas is Mobility for Africa’s core focus. For the e-mobility revolution to make it rural, offgrid renewable Energy systems are crucial to support EV fleets and ensure sustainability.
 
“In 2020, 733 million people around the world did not have access to electricity, with the majority of people suffering from energy poverty located in rural and peri-urban areas.” Currently, in Zimbabwe, we are facing countrywide power outages with one of the country’s main electricity sources, the Kariba South Bank power station, being shut until review in January 2023. Now, more than ever, we have seen how vital DRE systems are, to accommodate increasing electricity demand and support use of EVs to enable low carbon and environmentally sustainable mobility solutions for rural communities.
 
Our work on our pilot projects would not have been possible without the support from our ongoing partnerships with AECF EIS - EXA Innovation Studio, EEP Africa and Toyota Mobility Foundation and most recently, InfraCo Africa.
 
And special thanks to Authors: Deepak Mohapatra (ARE), Robin Kuranel (UNIDO ITPO Germany) for including us in the publication.
Editors: Michael Schmidt (UNIDO ITPO Germany, Justus Schneider (UNIDO ITPO Germany), David Lecoque (ARE), Jens Jæger (ARE), Ling Ng (ARE), Okan Özkan (ARE), caroline kantono(ARE)
Peer reviewer: Önay Geylan (UNIDO)

InfraCo Africa Investment

InfraCo Africa invests to scale access to clean transport in rural Zimbabwe

Date: 1st December 2022

Harare, Zimbabwe: InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed an agreement committing US$2 million to scale the offering of Mobility for Africa, an electric mobility company delivering affordable, cargo-carrying e-tricycles and solar-powered battery charging solutions for underserved communities in rural Zimbabwe.

Mobility for Africa’s Director and CEO, Shantha Bloemen said of the investment, “We are grateful to InfraCo Africa for this investment and their vote of confidence. It will allow us to demonstrate how our fleet management system can be replicated to many rural communities. But it also signals that a rural woman, our primary customer, should no longer be ignored and acknowledges the critical role they play in agricultural and economic development. Mobility for Africa knows that by providing green shared mobility solutions to rural communities, especially women, we can have a catalytic impact on local economic activity, reduce gender inequality and contribute to building resilience against climate change.

Hambas at the Chipinge handover and launch

Known locally as ‘Hambas,’ Mobility for Africa’s electric three-wheelers service the daily transport needs of small-scale farmers – often women’s cooperative groups - who buy or lease the trikes to transport their produce to markets. Reduced journey times and access to markets in larger towns enable farmers to sell their produce at higher prices whilst also minimising post-harvest losses increasing income generation, supporting SDG 2. Healthcare professionals also use ‘hambas’ to reach patients across large geographical areas and rough terrain. The vehicles also enable the transportation of firewood, water and passengers, reducing the energy and time burden for women who have primary responsibility for domestic labour.[i] Designed without a straddle bar, the vehicles are comfortable for women to drive.

“We are delighted to be working with Mobility for Africa to scale its exciting electric tricycle and solar-powered battery charging offering in rural Zimbabwe,” said InfraCo Africa’s Business Development Manager, Beatrice Muthoni, “As the first African off-road e-tricycle, ‘Hambas’ will transform access to affordable, clean transport enabling people to reach employment, education and healthcare as well as to transport goods to market and to support domestic labour. InfraCo Africa brings expertise to the project from our electric mobility investments in Kenya and Uganda. This is our first investment in Zimbabwe and we look forward to partnering with Mobility for Africa to scale its solution to addressing rural transport needs in the country.”

Visiting  Domboshawa, the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Melanie Robinson said, “ I am delighted by news of this InfraCo Africa investment in Mobility for Africa, a woman-led start-up doing a great job providing climate-friendly transport to small scale Zimbabwean farmers, many of them women. Mobility for Africa’s Hamba electric tricycles are designed with women users in mind – I can testify to that as I’ve had a chance to ride one! We’d love to see much more green finance investing in Zimbabwe’s private sector.”

UK Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Melanie Robinson, learning how to drive the Hamba from MFA Transport and Logistics Driver, Cleopatra Magada.

 InfraCo Africa’s investment will finance four hundred new Hambas, six hundred batteries and eight new charging stations at strategic locations across eastern Zimbabwe. It is anticipated that the project will significantly scale Mobility for Africa’s business, enabling it to engage with more small scale farmers, especially women and grow the business case that by partnering with agricultural partners,  it can demonstrate the financial sustainability and socio-economic impact of its model. It is anticipated that the company will then be well-positioned to attract further private sector finance with a view to scaling its offering to other customer groups and to new geographies across the region.

[i] https://knowledgehub.southernafricatrust.org/research/the-experiences-and-challenges-of-women-in-the-sadc-region-the-case-of-trade-and-agriculture-sectors-2018/

Meet Evelyn

This post stars Evelyn, one our Transport and Logistics drivers in Wedza, Zimbabwe.

In a group called “Blue Star” with partner, Josephine, the pair have been using the Hamba for 2 years. Evelyn explained, “I usually use Hamba to take loads of firewood as taxi or pregnant women to the clinic.”

“I use it almost everyday, mostly people do planned rides where someone calls me the day before or people will ask me on the day, almost everyday I’m on the road. We [Josephine and Evelyn] exchange the hamba for 2 weeks at a time so then we can to other activities at our homes in the meantime.”

Compared to other transport in the area , (Mushikashikas, usually a Honda Fit) Evelyn explained that the Hamba is usually more preferable for passengers:
“We try to charge below the mushikashika rates and we adjust to be below theirs. Also, in the small car people are usually squeezed in so it’s actually more comfortable in the Hamba where maximum capacity is 3-4 people so you can stretch your legs and sit properly - this is much preferable for older or pregnant people. We also offer door-to-door services!”

When asked about life before the hamba she told us, “I mainly did horticulture - growing in my garden with vegetables. Or I would do buying and selling of second hand clothes which I’d have to travel for to then bring back to our area.
But this wasn’t giving me as much business compared to the Hamba.” She smiled, saying, “because Mobility for Africa expects me to really use the Hamba: if I work very hard then I can get a big commission!”

After all, the Hamba means “let’s go” and that’s what MFA aspires for the electric 3-wheelers - to be used, to increase mobility, to increase productivity! ⬆️

#development #ruraldevelopment #ruralafrica #zimbabwe #emobility #emobilityrevolution

Introducing Babra

Introducing Babra Dondo! She joins the Mobility for Africa team as Site Coordinator in Chipinge, Zimbabwe. Babra, who was born and raised in Chipinge, is a mother of two boys, holds an Honours Degree in Human Resources Management, and did her Leadership at Chipinge Town Council.

Having been based at the Mayfield Headquarters for almost a month she said:
“I have really seen how MFA has come to the rescue of the local fellow women with the Hambas. Like how domestic work has been made much easier than before. This project has not only helped the women but the whole community at large. The transport crisis here has been resolved amicably.

It has been a great honour joining such a team who are very welcoming and hard working. I am pleased to be part of the team that do such a great work and am sure this won't just help my community only but the whole nation at large.”

We’re thrilled to have Babra on the team and managing our Chipinge base!

Babra (on left), pictured with Thandi (left) - Community Engagement for MFA

#growingteam #emobility #ruralafrica #ruralzimbabwe

Chipinge launch!

Earlier this month, we were very excited to celebrate the official opening of Mayfield Milk Collection Centre and Hamba handover ceremony in Chipinge which included representatives from Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited, TranZDVC Project, Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers, LEAD Zimbabwe, We Effect, European Commission delegation in Zimbabwe, U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), and US Embassy in Zimbabwe.

In Zimbabwe, the availability of dairy products on the market currently depends on imports and in a recent study, the Netherland’s Development Organisation (SNV) found that milk production is about 20% of peak production.

However, small scale farmers can viably contribute to the sub-sector to increase production. The SNV study explains that “Milk Producer Associations, with intensive production, could be as good as and better than individual large-scale farmers”.

Dairy production occurs in 4 main provinces in Zimbabwe: Mashonaland, Manicaland, the Midlands and Bulawayo. The Mayfield Milk Collection Centre collects is located in Chipinge, in Manicaland Province. Roughly 61 local small-scale farmers take milk twice daily, up to 28 litres a day per cow, which is stored in the Collection Centre before being collected by Dairibord every other day.

Farmers described often having to leave several litres of good milk at home due to lack of transport, taking only what they are able to carry – usually a 10 or 20 litre canister, on head. Since the introduction of the Hamba, the MCC told us production has increased by 40%. No more milk has to be left at home!

MFA is proud to partner with public and private sectors to help improve dairy industry productivity, and especially support women within the sector.

#dairyfarmers #increasedproductivity #development #sharedsolution #emobility #greensolutions #greentransport #greenfarming

Swiss Delegation and EEP Africa Domboshawa Visit

We were honoured to have the Swiss development & Cooperation Vice Director, Nicolas Randin, the delegation for the Swiss Embassy in Harare and EEP Africa Portfolio Manager Chiedza Mazaiwana for a tour of our Factory and site visit in Domboshawa.

The project in Domboshawa is being supported through an EEP Africa grant with funding from Swiss Government. We travelled to Domboshawa for two home visits with some of the poultry farmers, using the Hamba, to gain insight on the shared model of one hamba to 5 farmers, the changes in daily routine and increased production.

After a tour of our Domboshawa driving station, we facilitated a discussion with our Transport and Logistics Drivers and had our first prize giving for the best drivers of the month.

We were delighted to award first prize to the group “Mungate”, comprising of sister-in-law’s, Faith and Pamela (see pictured below) who travelled almost 800km, completing 173 trips.

Closely, followed by “Trinity” (Kupakwashe and Pauline) in second place.

And third place “Gukwe” (Moses and Philimon) with only a few points separating them from first. It was great that our first prize giving could be presented by our guests, making it even more of an occasion!

All the Hambas in Domboshawa, by being powered by electric rather than fuel, avoided a whopping 156kg of carbon dioxide emissions during October!

#cleanenergy #climatefinance #SDG7 #energytransition #greengrowth #emobility #zimbabwe

Enea Consulting visit

During October, we had Enea Consulting consultants, Céline Huitric and Thomas DERONZIER , with us for two weeks. Enea is a company that provides strategy consulting to accelerate the development of clean, accessible and affordable energy. They came to consult for us as part of our prize for the Energy Access Booster awards, sponsored by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Enea and TotalEnergies which we received in 2021.

Céline and Thomas have spent their time visiting each of our pilot sites, the charging stations and farmers and transport and logistics drivers enrolled in the project. Last Friday marked our final day with them and we concluded with a debriefing workshop with the team. We are very grateful for their insights bringing us knowledge and know-how for our future plans.

See Thomas and Céline below at a home visit with local small-scale farmers near our site in Chipinge, Zimbabwe below.

Thomas left us saying, “Our time with MFA was very insightful and inspiring. The site visits really helped us feel the impact and value of giving affordable and clean mobility solutions to these rural communities.”