In the pursuit of its development, Fenix International has been established in Benin since 2018 to establish its renewable energy production project. On the eve of her two-year birthday, the Managing Director of ENGIE FENIX Benin, Philippe Robert gave us an interview to tell us about his vision and perspectives.. Read instead
Tell us about the history of Fenix Benin ?
Fenix is a company that was created, there is more of 10 years by two Americans from California to the United States. Ils travaillaient dans une grande entreprise qui s’appelle “Apple”. They had the idea to create a company in Africa to bring electricity, comfort for populations not connected to the unconventional electricity network. This company was established in Kampala (Capital of Uganda) and quickly spread to other countries such as Zambia, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria, Benin and Mozambique. These are six (6) countries that benefit from Fenix services.
What is the main service that Fenix offers to its customers ?
Fenix's activity is to offer solar kits specifically to populations not connected to the conventional grid. A Fenix solar kit, it is a battery which is supplied with solar energy by small solar panels and under which you can plug a number of accessories which are also supplied by us. The kit is fully integrated. You can plug in a laptop charger, but you can also plug in lamps, radios, Woofers which are small speakers. We have fans, hair clippers and especially the television version 24 inches and 32 inch. We have just concluded a partnership with Canal + to also offer our customers the potential to have quality content from the partner..
Why did you choose to set up this company in Benin ?
When our marketers at the headquarters in Kampala, Uganda chose Benin as their destination, they had done a number of studies beforehand. The first reason, this is the political stability of the country. This is something that is particularly expensive for an international investor. Benin had all the characteristics of a relatively stable country. The second reason, this is the request. We had done a number of market studies at the time and the demand for solar kits was particularly high. And then the third reason, our kits are payable in cash or on credit. You can buy them on credit under a one or two year plan and via the mobile money device. And for the cost, we needed a partner who was able to work with us. This partner existed in Benin and wanted to work with us. It is the MTN network that has helped and supported us since our establishment in Benin. Fenix has been present in Benin since 22 November 2018 so we celebrate our 2 years.
Nowadays, what is the number of households that you have impacted ?
In Benin, growth has been absolutely spectacular since we started from zero (0) the 22 November 2018 and today we are close to 90 000 homes served. And we are targeting them 100 000 homes therefore 500 000 people impacted at the end of this year 2020.
Do you benefit from state support ?
In the facts, we did not have enough strong support from the State but I must say that we have very good relations with the Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Exports which helped us a lot in unblocking some small situations of red tape absolutely light. Because it is thanks to her that we were not only able to obtain the importer's card so that we could distribute our kits in Benin and many other things. This also confirms the marketing studies that had been carried out at the time that Benin is from a political and economic point of view, an interesting situation for foreign investors.
Like any human initiative, there are always difficulties
Yes, there are but the main difficulty is that of the year 2020. I had not planned, when I started the business, two years ago that we will be faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has disrupted our development. We had to put all of our employees into teleworking between March and May when the government decided to install a cordon sanitaire between the municipalities in the south and those in northern Benin. It was also the start of the pandemic in Benin and therefore we wanted to be extremely careful with our employees. And during these two months, activity slowed down. We have been able to adapt. Where we are proud enough, it is because in the face of this enormous difficulty, we will achieve our goals by 2020 the main one of which is the 100 000 clients. And I must congratulate all my employees for having taken the shock because this year nobody wanted it and everyone hopes that it will end very soon.
What are your perspectives ?
Our outlook, it is in fact to continue to supply solar electricity to the most distant customer since I remind you, the will of the two Americans who created Fenix ago 10 years, it was really to offer 21st century modernity to all Africans who do not have access to conventional electricity. It is absolutely intolerable today to know that 80% of the African population is still not connected to the traditional network and therefore Fenix hopes to make its contribution to the building. We plan to go even further than the 100 000 customers in this case. I want to be concrete, I wish us to double the size of our client portfolio by the end of the year 2021.
A word to customers
I would like to thank them because they trusted us, without them there will be no Fenix. It was a crazy bet to launch Fenix just a few years ago 2 years even if marketing studies say that there is a demand it still needs to be proven in the field. They had already tried the adventure of solar energy with other suppliers. This is why we conduct satisfaction surveys every quarter and the latest survey, which dates from the end of October, shows that 91% of our customers are satisfied or very satisfied. It’s a great score and so I can only really thank them and encourage them to keep up the momentum., in order to achieve our goals in the end 2021.
What will you say to conclude this interview ?
It's a crazy adventure. Two years ago, I was all alone and 15 days later we were two and today we are over 170 salaried people. And we have on the ground 1000 service providers who work on our behalf. They are called Solar Comfort Advisors (CCS). They are our salespeople and therefore the company has grown at an exponential rate of which I am obviously very proud.. Fenix is also proof of a profitable private business. Fenix also does social works and the value we create every day., we share it with our customers by meeting their primary needs, that of having electricity for comfort, Security, the lighting and modernity that everyone has a right in the 21st century. I have a young team very motivated by the mission of transforming the Beninese energy landscape. I am very happy with the first two years and wish us many new birthdays again.
Interview by : Damien TOLOMISSI