Delagneau Barquero Vladimir
Organization: Tecnosol
Year Founded: 1998
Country: Nicaragua
Website: www.tecnosolsa.com.ni
Tecnosol has been providing renewable and clean energy to Nicaraguan homes and farms through solar, wind and hydro systems since 1998. To date, Tecnosol has installed more than 50,000 photovoltaic systems in Nicaragua. Focus: Energy, Environment, Rural Development Geographic Area of Impact: Nicaragua, El Salvador Model: Social Business Number of Direct Beneficiaries: 300,000 (1998-2009) Annual Budget: US$ 5,099,000 (2009) Percentage Earned Revenue: 100% Recognition: Regional Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Latin America, 2010 Background In Nicaragua, over 50% of the rural population does not have access to electricity. Bringing electricity to rural communities is not attractive for big private companies due to the distance from the grid, high dispersion of communities and houses, low density of the population, low consumption per family (50 kWh/month or less), and reduced payment capacity. These factors translate into high energy costs for rural consumers. Tecnosol offers products and services to provide practical alternative energy solutions that greatly impact the standard of living of Nicaragua’s citizens. Innovation and Activities Since 1998, Tecnosol has worked to improve access to electricity in rural areas of Nicaragua. Tecnosol offers customers a range of products, including lighting systems of various sizes, solar-powered refrigeration and water-pumping systems, as well as a wind and hydroelectric systems. The systems range in price from US$250 to US$2,500. To help customers finance the systems, Tecnosol works with local microfinance institutions. In many cases, these systems lead to increased income generation for customers: a shop keeper with a refrigeration system and can store meat and produce to sell throughout the week, and farmer can increase crop yield using a solar-powered water pumping system. Relying on a chain of 17 stores in Nicaragua and a recently-opened store in El Salvador, Tecnosol has branched strategically throughout the region in order to better reach and serve customers. Tecnosol has developed a business model of import, storage, distribution, retail and post-sale, which emphasizes quality and customer service at each stage of the business chain. Excellent quality is essential in order to facilitate the adoption of an unfamiliar technology with an often skeptical customer group. Tecnosol goes to great lengths to reach its customers, even in areas where the only access is on horseback. This commitment is part of Tecnosol’s mission to bring solutions, hope, and improved well-being to its customers. The Entrepreneur Vladimir Delagneau’s desire to address rural electricity access began in 1986 when he was only 18 years old. Vladimir was recruited to serve in the army and had to quit his studies in electronics. During the war he experienced the challenges of living in an isolated community without electricity, relying only kerosene and a diesel generator. As the squad member in charge of radio communication, he acquired a small solar panel to charge a radio battery and the impact of the technology on his work left a lasting impression. After the war he returned to school with a new-found conviction to help Nicaragua’s rural poor. Vladimir obtained a scholarship to study solar energy in Germany and then returned to Nicaragua and founded Tecnosol.
<< back