[Mali] Sunna Design to produce ‘made in Africa’ solar street lamps

Known for launching the Akon Lighting Africa initiative, Solektra International has just announced a major partnership with Sunna Design, starting with the launch of the first solar street lamp assembly line in Bamako, Mali, to be operational as of February 2017. With Sunna Design’s innovative, connected and low energy consuming plant, Solektra International will bring manufacturing capacity to the African continent as part of its new strategy moving forward. The assembly line, which is expected to produce no less than 30,000 solar street lamps per year, will be inaugurated on January 13^thalongside the Africa-France Summit for Partnership, Peace and Emergence.

With this new partnership, Solektra International, currently operating in 17 African countries, is now equipped to become a leading player on the continent. "Products, training and manufacturing: Solektra has a 360° approach, as our objective is to contribute to the development of a genuine solar industry in Africa," said CEO Samba Bathily. "Sunna Design’s solar street lighting technology is the only one to resist most extreme temperatures like those of our regions. The new assembly line is an asset; we can now transform Mali into a new ‘hub’, capable of supplying all African countries with very diverse and top quality solar equipment."

In fact, the assembly line developed by Sunna Design offers maximum flexibility, as up to six of the ten workstations can be interchanged, depending on the products to be manufactured. "This approach is a major shift compared to what is in place in most plants," said Thomas Samuel, CEO of Sunna Design. “There are simple, digital and easy-to-use tools, all designed to support workers. What we developed is a very modern and operator-centric industrial process. Thanks to Solektra International, we can now demonstrate that it is perfectly suited to developing countries ".

Several young technicians from Solektra International were invited to France, in Sunna Design’s Blanquefort headquarters, to receive on-site training. They will then be able to operate the assembly line autonomously in Bamako, and share their knowledge with colleagues. For Akon, co-founder of Solektra International, "skill transfer is a critical aspect in this project, which perfectly complements what we launched a year ago with the Solektra Solar Academy. We are pleased to work with Sunna Design, whose teams are fully aligned with our vision and goals for the African youth."

www.solektra-international.com