SimbaLink is a clean energy innovator committed to expanding the reach of solar-energy providers to families living without electricity. SimbaLink's primary product is a peripheral monitoring device that works with an existing or new single-home solar-energy system. This device acts as the "brain" of the system and determines whether the solar panel and the battery are functioning properly. Information about system performance is stored in the device and sent wirelessly, over a GSM network, to a central server, where it is analyzed and delivered via the Internet to a technician working for a solar-energy company in an urban area. When data points to a problem that can be easily solved by the homeowner, the technician can alert the homeowner with a text message. More complicated matters would still require an on-site visit, but by having access to data about system performance on a regular basis, the solar-energy company can eliminate unnecessary maintenance visits and only send a technician to the field when an on-site repair visit is necessary.

Audience
SimbaLink is a social business venture, and our target customers are the growing number of renewable energy providers entering the rural electrification market in East Africa.