Solar-powered Wi-Fi helps African refugees to become entrepreneurs | Context

TL;DR

Solar-powered Wi-Fi helps African refugees to become entrepreneursInnocent Tshilombo, an entrepreneur in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp and himself a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, poses for a photo at the COP27 U.N. climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, November 16, 2022.Pairing renewable energy and internet nodes is opening up education and job opportunities in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp- Solar panels and internet installed at Kenya refugee camp- Refugee-led business opens door to online education, jobs- Finding enough work for newly educated remains a challengeSHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - When Innocent Tshilombo arrived in Kenya's remote Kakuma refugee camp in 2009 after fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he spent the first years recovering and looking, without much success, for something to do with his life.But landing some low-paid logistics work with aid groups operating in the arid camp in northern Kenya gave Tshilombo access to the internet, a bit of cash - and an idea."It doesn't cause harm to the environment, it doesn't require a lot of maintenance, we don't have to keep buying fuel.Tshilombo hopes over time to expand the number of internet-and-solar-power nodes in Kakuma to about 100, bringing access to power and online opportunities to a broader swathe of the camp's residents."

Like summarized versions? Support us on Patreon!