East African high-rise photovoltaic panel manufacturers

Its current manufacturing capacity is 140,000 solar panels per year, and it is now set to double this within the next 18 months to meet rising demand in East Africa. Over the past decade, the prices of solar panels have gone down, making them more affordable for households in off-grid areas.

In 2011 a group of investors opened Kenya's first solar panel manufacturing plant in Naivasha, about a 90 minute drive from the capital Nairobi. Solinc, formerly known as Ubbink East Africa, manufactures solar panels of 20W to 250W.

Founded by Patric Ngowi, Helvetic Solar services range from solar panels to solar heater, back-up unit etc. The company serves customers across countries in East Africa. Helvetic Solar ranked at the top of the East Africa Survey of top 100 Mid-size companies in Tanzania in 2012. A year later, the company made up to 5 million dollars

Solinc, formerly known as Ubbink East Africa, manufactures solar panels of 20W to 250W. It is also involved in the assembly of complete home solar kits that include batteries, phone chargers and LED lights. More than 80% of the company's solar panels are sold in Kenya, with the remainder retailing in Uganda and Tanzania.

Construction started last year on a 10MW grid-connected solar PV plant that will be a welcomed additional to the energy park. By 2018, Tropical Power plans to have constructed renewable power resources across Africa, producing over 130MW. The company has already started work on a biogas and solar project in Ghana.

Recently, the solar company won a 5 million dollars grant from USAID after raising 25 million dollars from international investors. Launched in 2011, the Kenya based solar company now has over 300,000 customers and counting. M-Kopa Solar was founded by M- Pesa, the founders are Nike Hughes,Chad Larson and Jesse Moore.