By: Lungisa Somtombo
With the problems of load shedding that cripple individuals and businesses in the country, Elektro Green Power came to the rescue with renewable energy to assist in times of darkness.
Yandile Njokweni who used to work in a company that manufactures solar panels using renewable energy noticed that the company manufactures solar panels but does not do the installation. He saw an opportunity of creating a company that manufactures, educates and installs so that the end product reaches consumers, in 2018 Elektro Green Power was born.
Elektro Green Power Director Yandile Njokweni said starting the company was not easy as people wanted renewable energy but did not have knowledge of how it works. He and his partner Lwazi Mato took it upon themselves to educate their customers about how their products work and the response has been positive since they started.
He added that they saw that they should start this company without asking for funding or grant from the government.
“We looked for clients and the company is doing very well without any financial help,” said Njokweni.
Doing this business and introducing it to a lot of people, Njokweni found that people see renewable energy as expensive. They decided to not focus on renewable energy alone, they also do house wiring, COCs issuing, project management and drafting of proposals for projects.
Further, Njokweni said at Elektro Green Power they can install solar panels on a house that does not have electricity and on a house that has electricity, in commercial businesses, for farmers, and for campers.
“We help people save money in a way that is convenient for them, some use solar as backup some use electricity from Eskom as a backup,” said Njokweni.
Elektro Green Power customer Lennox Nyama said the solar is very helpful, it supplies everything that needs electricity in my house.
He added that if he has a problem with it they come back and fix it and he spends less money on electricity.
Njokweni said their main challenge is that the products they use are not available in the country, they buy some of their products out of the province and some outside the country.
“We can’t do big projects as the company can not afford to buy some of the products we have to use.”
He explained that they tried asking for financial assistance from big companies but the process is taking time since their kind of business is not really followed.
Elektro Green Power has five permanent workers and three on a contract that assists when they have a project. Njokweni added that they would like to get funding so that they can keep these workers on a permanent basis.
“We want to have a workshop where they manufacture our own systems where we will not purchase them ready,” he said.
Talking about their future plans Njokweni said they see themselves competing with well-established companies in big projects to create sustainable jobs and contribute to the economy of the country through renewable energy.
“If you want to know about renewable energy and how Elektro Green Power works you can go to our Facebook page or email us on info@elektrogreenpower.co.za,” he concluded.