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Executive Summary

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited is building a bankable rural power platform in Zimbabwe

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited designs, installs, owns, and operates solar-diesel hybrid mini grids for rural and peri-urban communities in Zimbabwe. We supply metered electricity to households, shops, farms, schools, clinics, and other productive users that are off-grid or trapped under unreliable supply conditions.

Our first pilot site in Mashonaland West Province is built around one commercial reality: communities already spend money on candles, kerosene, diesel, and lost business time. We convert that fragmented spend into a predictable utility bill, with reliable power that supports income generation, refrigeration, irrigation, welding, milling, and basic quality of life.

The company is based in Kariba, operates as a Zimbabwe-registered Private Limited Company (Pvt Ltd), and reports in USD to match imported equipment costs and investor expectations. Our service model is utility-grade, locally managed, and designed to scale across similar growth points.

What we are delivering

We are not selling one-off solar kits. We are building an infrastructure business that creates recurring revenue from electricity sales, monthly connection fees, and optional value-added support.

Our commercial proposition is simple:

• Household power for lighting, phone charging, fans, TVs, and small fridges
• Commercial power for shops, barbershops, welders, milling, cold storage, and irrigation support
• Institutional power for schools, clinics, churches, and community facilities
• Metered access with transparent billing and mobile-money-friendly collections
• Local maintenance support to protect uptime and customer trust

The system is a solar-diesel hybrid, which means solar handles the low-cost base load, batteries smooth demand, and diesel backup protects continuity during low-sun periods and maintenance events. That structure gives us a stronger service proposition than diesel-only supply and far more productive capacity than basic solar home systems.

The market opportunity we are targeting

Our first-site catchment is large enough to support a scalable mini grid. Within a 50 km radius of the pilot area, we estimate at least 4,000 unelectrified or poorly electrified households and 700–900 small businesses and institutions that need dependable electricity.

That demand is not speculative. It is already visible in trading centres, farm activity, health facilities, and household spending patterns, where customers are paying for power in inefficient ways every month. Our model captures that existing spend and turns it into contracted, metered energy revenue.

Year-one economics and growth path

The project is deliberately structured for early operating visibility and long-term scale. In Year 1, we expect total revenue of USD 90,000, driven by USD 29,527 from household energy sales, USD 47,814 from commercial and institutional energy sales, and USD 12,659 from monthly connection fees.

The five-year forecast shows revenue rising to USD 126,630 in Year 2, USD 151,956 in Year 3, USD 178,244 in Year 4, and USD 203,912 in Year 5. Gross margin remains steady at 72.2%, which confirms that the model benefits from strong unit economics once the customer base is active.

We are honest about the early years: the business is loss-making in Years 1 to 3 because of depreciation and interest burden during the build-out period. Net income turns positive in Year 4 at USD 8,073, then improves to USD 21,182 in Year 5 as utilisation increases and financing pressure eases.

:::reassure Key investment signals

• Year 1 revenue: USD 90,000
• Year 3 revenue: USD 151,956
• Year 5 revenue: USD 203,912
• Gross margin: 72.2%
• Positive net income: from Year 4
  :::

Capital request and project funding

We are raising USD 330,000 to finance the first mini grid through commissioning and early operations. The capital stack is structured as USD 130,000 in equity and USD 200,000 in long-term debt, giving the project enough resilience to absorb early ramp-up risk while preserving value for growth capital.

The capital requirement covers the core project assets, site build-out, and working capital needed to keep service running while customer connections scale. The asset base includes solar generation, storage, control systems, distribution infrastructure, meters, and the operating reserve needed to manage the first trading cycle.

Why this project is financeable

The first site has a clear customer base, a defined operating territory, and a tariff model that supports recurring collections. Our pricing remains below the practical cost of diesel generation for active users, while still allowing enough margin to build, operate, and maintain the network.

We also have a management team with the right mix of engineering, finance, operations, and community engagement skills. In Year, our founder and Managing Director, brings an engineering background and several years of solar project development experience in Zimbabwe. By Month, our Operations Manager, is an electrical engineer with 10 years’ experience in power distribution and mini grid operations in Southern Africa. Sam Patel, our Finance and Administration Manager, is a qualified accountant with 8 years in infrastructure and SME finance. Dakota Reyes, our Community and Customer Engagement Lead, brings rural development and microfinance experience, and Taylor Nguyen, our Technical Lead, has 7 years of solar PV and battery installation and commissioning experience.

Why now

Zimbabwe’s rural power deficit is creating immediate demand for distributed energy solutions. Grid extension remains slow, diesel is expensive, and basic solar systems do not meet the needs of productive users who require stable, higher-load electricity.

Our first mini grid is positioned to capture that gap with a service customers can use every day. The investment case is built on utility-style revenue, physical infrastructure, local service delivery, and a repeatable model that can be replicated across similar growth points in Mashonaland West and beyond.

:::warning Investor reality check
This is a capital-heavy infrastructure business, not a quick-return trading venture.

• Year 1 net income is -USD 51,902
• Year 2 net income is -USD 25,440
• Year 3 net income is -USD 7,541
• Break-even revenue is USD 161,867 annually
• Break-even timing is not reached within the 5-year projection
  :::

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited is therefore seeking patient capital for a durable energy asset with clear demand, recurring revenue, and expansion potential. We are building the first proof point for a wider mini grid platform that can electrify underserved communities and convert power scarcity into bankable infrastructure growth.

Company Description

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited is a Zimbabwe-registered Private Limited Company (Pvt Ltd) headquartered in Kariba, Zimbabwe, with its first pilot mini grid planned for a rural growth point in Mashonaland West Province. We operate in USD because our capital equipment is imported, our contracts are dollar-linked, and our investors require a stable reporting currency in Zimbabwe’s multi-currency environment.

We design, install, own, and operate solar-diesel hybrid mini grids for rural and peri-urban communities that remain off-grid or suffer from persistent load-shedding and voltage instability. Our business exists to close the power gap that constrains household wellbeing, small enterprise growth, agricultural output, and service delivery in areas where the national grid is either unavailable or unreliable.

Our legal structure and ownership

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited is structured to hold assets, sign customer connection agreements, and operate each site as a regulated infrastructure business. The company’s ownership is anchored by the founder as majority shareholder, alongside external capital providers supporting the first site and the wider rollout strategy.

Our ownership and financing structure for the initial project is as follows:

Ownership / Capital Source	Amount
Equity capital	USD 130,000
Debt principal	USD 200,000
Total funding	USD 330,000

The company is set up to use formal power purchase and connection agreements with households, businesses, and anchor institutions. This gives us a bankable commercial base and a clear legal framework for collections, service obligations, and site operations.

:::reassure Why this structure matters to us

• It separates project assets from personal liabilities.
• It supports lender visibility over cash flows and collateral.
• It gives customers a clear utility-style service relationship.
  :::

Where we operate

Our base in Kariba positions us close to the first target community in Mashonaland West Province and gives us practical access to technical support, administration, and logistics. The pilot site has been selected for its strong need for reliable electricity, its concentration of economic activity, and its ability to support a mix of households, micro-enterprises, farms, schools, clinics, and faith-based institutions.

We are focused first on rural growth points and peri-urban service centres where demand is fragmented but persistent. These locations are commercially attractive because customers already spend heavily on candles, diesel, phone charging, transport, and downtime caused by power interruptions.

What we do

We provide reliable metered electricity through a mini grid model that combines solar generation, battery storage, and diesel backup. The system is built to supply 24/7 or near-24/7 power with transparent metering and mobile-friendly payment options.

Our core customer groups are:

• Households that need lighting, refrigeration, phone charging, and small appliances
• Small businesses such as shops, barbershops, bottle stores, welding operators, and milling businesses
• Farms and irrigation users who need consistent power for pumping and value-added production
• Social institutions including schools, clinics, and churches that require dependable electricity for service delivery

We sell electricity on a pay-as-you-go metered basis, supported by monthly connection fees and optional value-added services such as appliance leasing and maintenance support. Our average tariff is USD 0.32 per kWh for households and USD 0.38 per kWh for commercial and institutional users, which remains materially below the effective cost of diesel generation.

The market we serve

The first site is built around a real and visible deficit in electricity access. Within a 50 km radius of the pilot area, we estimate at least 4,000 unelectrified or poorly electrified households and 700–900 small businesses and institutions that can benefit from a mini grid connection.

These customers are not abstract. They are households with monthly incomes that must be stretched across energy, food, and school costs, and businesses that lose sales when refrigeration fails or equipment cannot run consistently. Our service gives them predictable power at a predictable tariff, which improves productivity and household quality of life at the same time.

Why our offer is different

We are not selling basic lighting kits, and we are not relying on the national grid to expand on our timeline. We are building an infrastructure business that can power productive equipment, not just phones and lamps.

Our differentiation is based on four commercial strengths:

• Utility-grade reliability for communities that cannot depend on intermittent supply
• Transparent metering and disciplined collections through formal contracts
• Support for productive use, including fridges, welding machines, pumps, and milling equipment
• Local technical responsiveness, which reduces downtime and improves customer confidence

We also target lower operating cost for customers than diesel generators, which often price power far above what small businesses can sustain. That gives us a strong value proposition in communities where entrepreneurs want to grow but need power stability to do it.

Our mission and long-term direction

Our mission is to expand affordable, reliable electricity access in Zimbabwe’s underserved communities and unlock economic activity that is constrained by power scarcity. We are building a platform that supports income generation, social infrastructure, and rural resilience, not just electricity sales.

Our long-term ambition is to replicate the first project across multiple rural and peri-urban locations. The business model is designed to scale because each additional mini grid can be deployed using the same operating framework, customer onboarding system, metering approach, and technical standards.

Founding team and operating leadership

The company is led by the founder and Managing Director, whose engineering background and solar project development experience anchor strategy, stakeholder engagement, and fundraising. This leadership is supported by a specialist operating team with defined responsibilities across system performance, finance, customer engagement, and technical delivery.

Our key team members are:

• Drew Martinez, Operations Manager, an electrical engineer with 10 years’ experience in power distribution and mini grid operations in Southern Africa
• Sam Patel, Finance and Administration Manager, a qualified accountant with 8 years’ experience in infrastructure and SME finance
• Dakota Reyes, Community and Customer Engagement Lead, with a background in rural development and microfinance
• Taylor Nguyen, Technical Lead, a solar PV and battery specialist with 7 years’ hands-on experience in installation and commissioning

This combination matters because mini grid success depends on more than hardware. It requires system uptime, disciplined billing, careful stakeholder management, and the ability to train local technicians and maintain trust in the community.

:::warning Investor-grade operating discipline

• We use formal customer agreements instead of informal supply arrangements.
• We meter consumption transparently to protect revenue and customer trust.
• We structure operations to support debt service, maintenance, and future site replication.
  :::

Our commercial identity

Zambezi Mini Grid Power (Private) Limited is an infrastructure and energy service company built for underserved Zimbabwean markets. We generate value by delivering reliable electricity where supply is absent or unstable, and by converting that need into recurring, contracted revenue from households, businesses, farms, and institutions.

The first pilot site establishes the operating proof point for a wider rollout across Zimbabwe’s rural growth points. Our company is positioned to become a long-term power partner for communities that need dependable electricity to work, trade, learn, and grow.

🔒 Continues in the full version

The remaining 9 sections of this document cover:

• Products and Services
• Market Analysis
• Competitive Analysis
• SWOT Analysis
• Marketing and Sales Strategy
• Management and Organization
• Operating Plan
• Financial Plan and Projections
• Funding Request

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