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Rwandan solar-powered kiosk company seeks to create Africa's biggest Wi-Fi network

February 20, 2017

African Renewable Energy Distributor, a provider of a mobile solar kiosk for charging phones,  has broadened its offering and now labels itself as a connectivity solutions provider looking to "build the largest Wi-Fi network in Africa," and provide users with digital content through its revamped mobile solar kiosk, called the Shiriki Hub.

Aside from having an updated design, in addition to charging and virtual top-up services for mobile phones, the new kiosk has a Bluetooth printer, bigger solar panel capacity, speakers and Wi-Fi.

The cost of internet varies depending on how long users wish to browse the web. Each kiosk has stored digital content on board – such as music, news and information on health and education – which passersby can access for free.

To keep costs for users as low as possible, ARED is to looking to generate a portion of its profit from advertising on the mobile interface people use to access the internet, and by providing a platform for businesses to conduct surveys.

There are five Shiriki Hub prototypes. Three are operating in Rwanda and the remaining two the company wishes to deploy in neighboring Uganda in the next two months.