Solar-powered tricycles revolutionize rural transport in Zimbabwe

Solar-powered tricycles are transforming rural transport in Zimbabwe, offering a clean and affordable solution to chronic mobility challenges.

Miles of dirt roads separate rural families in Zimbabwe from essential services, forcing many to walk long hours for basic necessities. This groundbreaking tricycle program is breaking new ground by bridging this gap.

In 2022, Pamela Kufinya broke societal stereotypes when she learned how to ride an electric tricycle. She's established a thriving business in Domboshava, a few kilometres north of the capital city Harare, delivering everything from stock feed and building materials. Occasionally, she also carried patients to the local clinic.

She said her tricycles are giving conventional modes of transport a run for their money.

"It costs more to hire a truck than it is to hire a tricycle, so people are opting for us. Before this, I used to grind quarry stones by hand for a living. Riding is less strenuous and is sustaining my family better," said Kufinya.

The three-wheelers called "Hambas", which means to move in the local language, are getting around one of the main barriers in rural development, and in a climate conscious manner.

"The Hamba is just the right answer to the rural mobility challenge. It is flexible, you don't need a very well-maintained road for it to access, which is the limitation that we have in the country. The Hamba by its size and its design is able to go through those small pathways, right into your avocado field, right into your banana plantation, right into your cabbage garden and collect and take the product to the market," said Simba Hlatshwayo, the Chief Finance Officer of the tricycle company.

Batteries of the tricycle were co-designed by the technicians of the company and an energy enterprise from China.

Emboldened by its reception and the environmental and economic benefits, the manufacturers are scaling up production. There are currently about 300 of these bikes traversing rural Zimbabwe. The plan is to increase that number to about 500 by the end of the year.

"As they improve productivity, because they have solved the mobility challenges, they have more disposable income," said the CFO.

In this case, more villagers will no longer have to walk long distances, and they can improve their livelihoods at the same time.

Solar-powered tricycles revolutionize rural transport in Zimbabwe

The oil price shock triggered by the war in the Middle East could reduce euro-area GDP growth by around 0.4 percentage points over the first year following the shock, according to a European Central Bank (ECB) study released on Wednesday.

Since the outbreak of the war in late February, disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and reduced oil supply from the Middle East have pushed crude prices sharply higher, said the study.

It added that the increase in oil prices triggered by the current shock has so far been larger than that observed after the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, although it remains smaller than the rise seen during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.

The ECB said higher oil prices are likely to weigh on the euro-area economy through rising production costs, lower household purchasing power, weaker global demand and heightened uncertainty.

Based on historical evidence, the ECB estimated that a geopolitical oil supply shock that raises real oil prices by 10 percent could reduce euro-area GDP growth by around 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points in each of the three years following the shock.

The study found that the impact on investment is likely to be more pronounced than that on private consumption. According to the ECB, heightened geopolitical uncertainty may prompt firms to delay expansion plans, equipment purchases and hiring decisions, dampening investment activity and amplifying the impact on economic growth.

The ECB noted that the euro area's dependence on oil has declined over time, but the response of investment to geopolitical oil supply shocks appears to have remained broadly stable.

The study cautioned that the overall impact of the current shock remains highly uncertain and will depend on the magnitude and persistence of the oil price increase. A prolonged period of elevated oil prices, broader supply-chain disruptions or spillovers into gas markets could further intensify downward pressure on euro-area growth.

Middle East oil shock could cut euro-area growth by 0.4 percentage points in first year: ECB