(Togo First) - Founder and CEO of KYA Energy Group, Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah shares his journey from academic researcher to solar entrepreneur. In this interview with Togo First, he reflects on the challenges of energy entrepreneurship in Togo as his company marks its 10th anniversary, the locally developed innovations driving its growth, and his vision for Africa’s energy independence.

Togo First: Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your background?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): I am currently the CEO of KYA Energy Group. My background can be seen from two perspectives, to put it simply. First, as someone driven by a passion for knowledge. I began my studies at the University of Lomé, where I earned a master’s degree in physics with a focus on energy. I then went on to France for a master’s in energy and later completed a PhD in engineering sciences, specializing in solar energy and energy efficiency. After that, I spent two years in Canada as a postdoctoral researcher, still focused on energy technology.

At that point, the “African call” struck me again. I returned to the continent to share my expertise through the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE) in Ouagadougou, where I built my career as a lecturer, researcher, and head of a research laboratory for nearly a decade. Later, I joined PAUWES, the Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy in Tlemcen, Algeria, for about a year and a half before deciding to start my own venture by creating KYA Energy Group.

Togo First: What made you leave the academic world for entrepreneurship?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): Simply because I wanted to make a real impact on the African continent, and especially in Togo, in a different and more tangible way. For a long time, I worked in teaching and research, exploring methods and processes that could improve access to energy services. But those were mostly academic approaches.

At some point, I wanted to move from academia to hands-on engineering. When I made that leap—quite by chance, actually—I discovered there was so much to do and redo, both in the field and within academia. There were real-world practices we were unaware of in research, and there was also a need to strengthen fieldwork through academic insights. That transition helped me see things from a new perspective and gave me the opportunity to create a deeper, more direct impact on our communities.

Togo First: What is the mission of KYA Energy Group?

K.Y.A.: Our mission is to make access to sustainable energy services affordable and inclusive for all our people. It is quite unfortunate that in the 21st century, in 2025, there are still areas in our country—and across Africa—without access to energy services.

As someone who has specialized in solar energy and spent nearly 20 years in this field since my PhD, I often ask myself: have I been truly useful? Why are we still struggling to ensure universal access to energy? Our sole and unwavering commitment is to fight on every front—scientific, technological, economic, financial, and political—so that tomorrow, every Togolese citizen can have access to energy services. And when I speak of sustainable energy services, I mean, for example, making use of the sun, which is always there and will not go out anytime soon, at least not on our human scale.

Togo First: What have been the main challenges since the company was founded?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): There have been many. The first challenge was convincing not only public authorities but also private actors that solar energy is both useful and sustainable. You see, there have been some not-so-successful experiences with solar in the past. Some tried and failed for various reasons. But solar energy is about engineering—if you do not master that, you end up with systems that are unreliable, short-lived, or too expensive. So the first challenge was proving our technical expertise and building trust.

The second challenge has been qualified human resources. We hardly had any schools that trained people in solar engineering. We had to set up a system to retrain and upgrade the skills of every person we recruited, and then find ways to retain them. You can take on a young technician or engineer, train them, and after two or three years, they move on to another opportunity. Retaining skilled staff has therefore been a major challenge.

Finally, the challenge that can immediately cripple a company is financial access—not necessarily to support our operations, but to help our potential clients afford our products and services.

Togo First: Could you explain more about this financial challenge?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): Today, we have reached a point where solar energy is truly competitive. If we look at the cost per kilowatt-hour produced over the lifespan of a solar system—for instance, we offer a minimum five-year warranty—the cost of that kWh is comparable to, or even lower than, many other electricity costs in the subregion. The issue is not competitiveness; it is accessibility.

The challenge is that clients must pay the full investment upfront—the total cost of the system and the energy it will produce over several years. Meanwhile, conventional power distribution systems allow customers to pay monthly or quarterly. We therefore need mechanisms that make it easier and more flexible for people to acquire solar systems, so they do not feel the financial burden at the start.

However, we are not a financial institution, and we do not have the liquidity to immobilize such funds. We need financial support and mechanisms that are affordable enough to help clients purchase solar systems and pay for them over time—over five, eight, or even ten years. Fortunately, we now have some promising partnerships emerging, notably with Ecobank, and other financial institutions in the country are showing interest in developing similar schemes to make solar systems more accessible to our future customers.

Togo First: Any other challenges?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): There is also the political dimension. Politics can change many things. Today, ECOWAS and WAEMU directives encourage the removal of customs duties and VAT on all renewable energy equipment and electricity supply components. Some countries have fully implemented these measures, while others have done so only partially.

In Togo, for instance, solar panels are tax-exempt, but batteries, inverters, and other key components are not. Yet those parts represent the largest share of the total investment. We welcome the government’s efforts to establish a law that clarifies the solar energy sector, but we continue to advocate for further progress—specifically, to remove taxes on other components such as batteries and inverters. This would significantly reduce investment costs and make renewable energy more affordable for both urban and rural populations.

Togo First: How does your company contribute to the government’s goal of achieving universal access to energy by 2030?

K.Y.A.: We are fully involved in that effort, in several ways. The first step we took was to reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers for solar components. That is why we started developing our own products locally.

Today, we assemble what we call “electro-solar units” right here in Togo. We assemble batteries and solar streetlights. Beyond that, we manufacture our own energy management systems—critical tools for optimizing the performance of solar systems and ensuring a better match between production and consumption. We also produce network analyzers that accurately assess clients’ energy needs, which helps us design better-adapted systems.

Moreover, we have developed our own solar system design software, tailored to local realities. Since 2020, this software—called KYA-SolDesign—has been available commercially. This demonstrates our strong scientific and technological foundation, aimed at mastering solar technology, reducing external dependence, and actively contributing to the Togolese government’s ambitious goal of universal energy access.

Togo First: What is your local production strategy? What do you assemble and what do you import?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): Most solar companies only sell imported products, which means they are 100% dependent on external supply. Our goal is to break that cycle and gradually reduce this dependency as we grow.

By starting to import raw components and assemble solar systems locally, we have already managed to cut our dependence by about 10 to 15%. Some parts, like the energy management systems we developed ourselves, are not found in conventional solar setups. We also design and build our own analyzers, and we created our own software to better address what we call technical reliability and economic accessibility.

I often say you can have a reliable system that no one can afford, or an affordable system that is not technically reliable. The real challenge is finding a balance between the two—making solar systems both dependable and accessible. Our software achieves that balance, which has allowed us to completely eliminate our reliance on existing foreign design tools.

The local assembly we do today gives us a real competitive edge

Togo First: What are the next steps in your industrial strategy?

K.Y.A.: The local assembly we do today gives us a real competitive edge. For example, if someone orders batteries from abroad, it can take three to four months. With us, it takes just one month. We do not yet have the capacity to manufacture lithium cells locally, even though lithium is available on our continent. That is why we aim to start producing them before the end of this decade.

Our dream is to expand our markets so that local assembly can scale up. By 2035, our goal is to move into manufacturing key components, especially lithium cells.

By 2035, our goal is to move into manufacturing key components, especially lithium cells.

As for inverters, assembly is even simpler. We already have our prototypes, and by 2027, we plan to have our own inverter assembly line.

We are setting both medium- and long-term goals to contribute to the industrial development of solar products. For me, this is the only sustainable way forward. Otherwise, we will simply keep creating markets for others, who will sell us their equipment while we remain dependent on their technological innovations.

Togo First: Why have you not moved into solar panel production?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): When it comes to solar panels, China is far ahead—so far that even Western countries struggle to keep up. Every African country that has tried to develop or assemble solar panels has eventually had to close those operations. The most recent example is Burkina Faso, where a company involved in panel assembly is now facing serious difficulties.

However, there are other components—what I call niche segments—that we Africans can target more easily. I often draw inspiration from the mobile phone model. Asians did not invent mobile technology, but they adopted and transformed it, evolving from single-SIM phones to multi-SIM devices. That innovation came from Asia. We too must learn to harness solar energy and adapt it to our needs through technological innovation in strategic niches.

Togo First: You have also developed a strong training component. Could you tell us more about it?

K.Y.A.: Yes, training is another major area we have invested in. As I mentioned earlier, there is a real shortage of skills in solar engineering. We took it upon ourselves to build local capacity. A good example is that the ECREEE—the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency—has designated us as the only certified center in Togo authorized to train technicians for ECOWAS certification in off-grid solar energy.

We have developed highly practical training modules tailored to solar professionals, to ensure there are skilled workers available across the country. This is essential for the sustainability of solar systems. It is not enough to install them—you must also stay engaged, ensure maintenance, and make repairs when needed. Otherwise, people will lose confidence in solar technology.

Togo First: Who are your main clients?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): Our primary clients are public institutions. That is where we generate most of our revenue. However, over the past three years, we have also started working seriously with the private sector. Households remain our smallest client segment. Why? Because we still lack the right financial mechanisms to allow households to acquire solar systems flexibly.

Our primary clients are public institutions

The day we reach that point—and I believe we are getting close—when we can offer eight- to ten-year financing options with relatively low interest rates and competitive kWh costs for households, I believe that segment will become our largest. For now, though, the hierarchy is clear: the public sector comes first, followed by the private sector, then SMEs, and finally households. We are confident that this trend will soon reverse.

Togo First: How did you make a name for yourself in public contracts?

K.Y.A.: We gained recognition through several avenues. At KYA, we love competition. We take part in many contests, which helps increase our visibility. Our first major award came from the West African Development Bank (BOAD). We won the BOAD Innovation Prize in 2018, which came with a generous 30 million CFA award. That gave us additional credibility and helped convince public institutions that we had a solid and innovative offering.

But we do not have any exclusive access to public contracts, either in Togo or elsewhere. We compete in open tenders like everyone else. We have built a strong competitive mindset—whenever we go after a contract, we do so with discipline, professionalism, and confidence, never with complacency. Thanks to that approach, we have successfully won public contracts not only in Togo but also in countries such as Niger, Mali, Benin, and Ghana.

Togo First: Could you give us an idea of your revenue figures?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): Over the past ten years, our average annual revenue has been around one billion CFA francs. That has been our steady baseline, though we know we can easily triple or even quadruple that amount. We have many clients in the private sector and among SMEs, but the main obstacle remains the high upfront acquisition cost.

Over the past ten years, our average annual revenue has been around one billion CFA francs.

If we can overcome that barrier—especially by addressing issues like customs duties and VAT in Togo—we could grow even further. I should add that our early years were very challenging; you cannot start out and immediately generate a billion in revenue. But now that we are celebrating our tenth year, we are confident about significantly increasing our income, not just in Togo but across the subregion and the African continent as a whole.

Togo First: How does innovation influence your competitiveness?

K.Y.A.: My background as a teacher and researcher has a major influence on our innovation process. In my previous professional life, I was a research lab director and founder, leading teams and securing research projects funded by institutions such as the African Union, the World Bank, and the European Union. That passion for innovation is deeply ingrained in me, and I strive to pass it on to my colleagues.

We have built an environment that encourages research and innovation through dedicated weekly brainstorming sessions. This allows us not only to question and improve our current practices but also to anticipate future challenges and develop new, forward-thinking solutions—some of which may not even exist yet.

Innovation directly impacts our competitiveness, especially when we participate in public tenders. We never approach a bid casually. We know that our competitors are serious and well-prepared, so we must be meticulous in how we prepare our proposals. If we lose, it should only be by a very narrow margin. And when that happens, we take it as a learning opportunity—acknowledging that someone else did better, reviewing our weaknesses, and improving so that next time, we win. It is a continuous process.

Togo First: What would you say are the major achievements that have marked these ten years?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): I would say that our entry into the market with our electro-solar unit was a key milestone. At that time, very few people were thinking about optimizing solar systems from the perspective we adopted—and we were rewarded by the BOAD for it.

Another major achievement was completely redefining how off-grid solar systems are designed. We developed the first African software for sizing off-grid solar systems, which is now being taught in several institutions across the continent.

We have also won some landmark contracts. One of them was establishing the Solar Academy under the CIZO program—an international competition. We were the only Togolese company shortlisted among six others, and we won the contract to train 3,000 technicians. That was an incredible experience.

Another major project was the monitoring and supervision of Togo’s largest solar power plant, the Blitta plant, which expanded from 30 MW to 50 MW, and now to 70 MW. We served as the consulting engineers for that project, and to this day, there has not been a single major incident. It was a big challenge, and we succeeded.

Finally, I would mention our current assembly line. To me, that is one of our greatest achievements. Reaching this milestone in just ten years—having established lines to assemble batteries and solar streetlights, and especially to manufacture our own energy managers and analyzers—is something we are very proud of. These early successes give us even more confidence for the future.

Togo First: What are the main risks facing solar energy players in the subregion?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): In my view, the main risks are primarily political. We operate in a region where the political environment is very unstable. There are threats from terrorism, coups d’État, and frequent changes in government. Such events can easily undermine the priority a government has given to renewable energy. That is a major risk.

The second risk concerns financial support. We are currently in a global energy transition, with green funds and carbon financing mechanisms being developed. But given the current global uncertainty, these funding sources could stop at any time. If that happens, how will we finance the acquisition of solar systems?

There is also a technological risk. Lithium, for example, is not used exclusively for solar energy anymore—it is increasingly in demand in the military sector. If global conflicts intensify, lithium batteries could become scarce, and their cost could rise sharply.

Togo First: How are you preparing to manage these risks?

K.Y.A.: On the political front, we are working to make our operations more “extraterritorial.” We do not want to put all our eggs in one basket. That diversification helps us reduce exposure to local instability. Not every country experiences drastic shifts in energy policy at the same time—if Togo faces a change, perhaps Benin does not. Our goal is to build a business model that takes these multiple risks into account and allows us to offer attractive solutions beyond national borders.

On the financial side, we are focusing on developing long-term banking partnerships. We are working on financial engineering models that will allow banks to support innovative solar solutions designed for populations with limited purchasing power. This kind of collaboration is key to ensuring both affordability for customers and sustainability for our business.

Togo First: What is your vision for the next five to ten years?

Ketowoglo Yao Azoumah (K.Y.A.): In the next five to ten years, we aim to be among the top players in West and Central Africa. That is clearly our playing field. Why not be in the top ten of those offering competitive, sustainable, and affordable solar solutions in Africa?

Beyond solar products, we also want to contribute to the standardization of practices through franchising and export our expertise in design, installation, maintenance, and system supervision. We plan to market our locally developed products that help optimize the performance of solar systems.

Starting next year, we will launch an initiative to make our software available to the public—almost free of charge for a significant period—so that users can see for themselves the advantages of our tool compared with others on the market.

Our goal is to make Togo a renewable energy hub in West Africa. From here, we aim to become one of the continent’s solar leaders and use solar energy as a real instrument of energy diplomacy in the subregion.

Togo First: To conclude, how can energy make Africa truly independent?

K.Y.A.: Honestly, the only true tool of independence we have is energy—energy produced from our own endogenous resources. The most abundant local resource across our continent is the sun, followed by wind, bioenergy, and others. If we truly want our countries to be sovereign and genuinely independent, we must ensure that we never lack energy.

I often take the example of solar energy in key sectors. Take agriculture—nothing works when people are hungry. We cannot continue practicing agriculture as we did in the Middle Ages, waiting for nature to bring rain when we have the means to access water ourselves. Solar energy can power irrigation systems. Even in the desert, farming is possible. Look at Israel—they grow crops in the desert using solar-powered irrigation. We can do the same everywhere in Africa.

Then there is mobility and transport. Today, moving goods and people is expensive because whenever oil prices rise, transport costs rise with them. We can change that paradigm. Electric motorcycles and cars are becoming increasingly common. If we build solar-powered charging stations, we can gradually move away from hydrocarbons altogether. We will no longer be at the mercy of oil prices. It may be a dream today, but we are working hard to make it a reality tomorrow.

There are still health centers and schools without access to energy services. And that is unacceptable in the 21st century. We should no longer be talking about difficult childbirths or the loss of babies simply because there was no electricity available to support medical care. Solar energy can solve that problem everywhere. We do not need to run power lines across the entire country for everyone to have access. With decentralized solar systems, each facility or household can operate independently and autonomously.

This is a call I want to make to both public authorities and the private sector: let us come together, commit ourselves, and mobilize all available means to ensure that within the next five to ten years, solar energy becomes widespread across Togo and throughout Africa. My dream is that soon, when people land in Togo—or in any country in our subregion—they will see solar panels on every rooftop. That would be a true revolution for our people, both in cities and in rural areas.