Kigali Solar Forum Puts Irrigation, Cooling and Milling Business Models in Focus

Monday 26th October 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

Kigali’s Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo programme is putting agricultural uses of electricity alongside the drive to expand energy access. Sessions scheduled this week will examine irrigation, cooling, milling and the business models needed to connect equipment with customers and finance.

In its published programme, REEEP says the Agri-Energy Coalition’s exhibition booth at the Kigali Convention Centre will operate from 27 to 29 October. The forum is co-organised by GOGLA and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.

A 28 October panel is scheduled to examine water-smart agriculture and solar irrigation, while a 29 October workshop will consider cooling, drying and milling offered as services. These are planned sessions; their appearance on the agenda does not establish that new financing or commercial agreements have been secured.

Productive use of renewable energy means using electricity to support an economic activity, such as processing a crop or preserving food. It shifts attention towards whether an energy service helps a business produce, store or sell something customers need.

A service model can change the question an operator must answer. Instead of asking only whether a farmer can buy equipment, a business may consider whether enough customers will pay to use it regularly, with maintenance and operating costs covered by those payments.

That creates a useful connection with East Africa’s agricultural adaptation finance agenda. Credit availability and suitable technology need to meet a workable business case; neither element alone demonstrates that an investment will improve a household’s income.

Tanzanian equipment suppliers, processors and financiers can follow the programme for practical lessons on customer demand and delivery. They should distinguish technology demonstrations and panel discussions from independently verified evidence of profitability or reductions in post-harvest losses.

After the forum, published case studies with operating costs, utilisation and customer outcomes would be particularly useful. Those details would show which approaches can move beyond a demonstration and become dependable services within African food supply chains.