Mozambique’s solar project wins Phanes Group’s first solar incubator

An integrated end-to-end solar provider headquartered in Dubai, Phanes Group, has announced Mozambique native, Marlon Dos Santos, as the winner of its first Solar Incubator program. The evaluation was held by a panel of international experts from Hogan Lovells, Proparco, responsAbility, RINA Consulting and Solarplaza.

The goal of the Phanes Group Solar Incubator is to provide access to funding and commercial and technical knowledge to promising PV projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and help entrepreneurs overcome typical obstacles that could prevent solar initiatives from reaching fruition.

The organisation, in a statement said the inaugural Phanes Group Incubator received applications at the volume of almost 1 GW across 15 African countries. Three shortlisted finalists presented their projects to a live panel, which ultimately selected Marlon Dos Santos’s ‘Kitaka Solar Project’ as most aligned with the competition’s mission to develop PV initiatives with a strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) component.

Dos Santos now has the opportunity to enter a partnership with Phanes Group to co-develop and deliver a bankable project, in which he will hold a long-term stake. This partnership will include a 2-month blended mentorship program, with a 4-day intensive kick-off workshop in Dubai and remote sessions with Phanes Group’s team of experts as well as the rest of the Phanes Group Solar Incubator partners.  It will also include the funding to bring the project to financial close.

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In his response, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Phanes Group, Martin Haupts, said: “We are proud and excited to announce Marlon Dos Santos as the recipient of our inaugural Solar Incubator program. It was a close match—all the finalists presented high-quality projects with the potential to transform their respective communities.”

“Not only the CSR component of each proposal was the key factor in our evaluation but also the passion of Marlon to bring a project to life in a difficult market where the expertise and the training he will be receiving might be essential to help him to succeed.  We look forward to welcoming him to Dubai, and making this project successful, along with our partners,” he concluded.