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Matiacoali's cell phone charging unit (UNDP)

Before they had any electricity, the inhabitants of Matiacoali, situated in a remote area east of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, had to travel 100 kilometres to charge their cell phone batteries. 

During their long trip, many even got robbed by highway thieves.

But with the appearance of its first Multifunctional Platform, Matiacoali has experienced what the villagers describe as “a true revolution”.

The platform is a 10-horsepower diesel engine that can serve multiple purposes in rural locations with no access to energy. A single platform can simultaneously run a mill that produces 150 kilograms of grain per hour; a water pump with a capacity of one to eight cubic meters per hour; a battery charger; as well as provide electrical power for an entire village.

In Matiacoali, the platform has given birth to the first electricity network, allowing the villagers to charge their cell phones on the spot.

“Nowadays, I can make one single phone call and find out about the price of a product, which allows me to decide whether I need to make a trip or not,” says Tandamba Tayabou.

The new cell phone charging unit has even become a village business, bringing in more than 600,000 CFA (about US$ 1,200) per year.

“On market days, I can charge more than 40 cell phones for 100 CFA each (US$0.20) if the clients have their own charger, 200 CFA (US$0.40) if they don’t,” says the unit manager Bernadette Ouoba.

The platform is also helping the village to husk rice and maize and grind cereals and shea nuts. In addition, it has given rise to a water distribution network and helped to light up many households. The platform has been especially beneficial to women, who are in charge of household chores and are able to save two to six hours worth of food processing every day.

Run by a female group called “Kamiri”, the Multifunctional Platform was inaugurated in May 2006. It was made possible by UNDP in cooperation with the government of Luxembourg; Arhus Karlshamn Denmark; Shell; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Burkina Faso.

Eight regions of Burkina Faso currently have Multifunctional Platforms. With the “scaling up” envisaged in 2009, the programme will spread to the entire country and distribute 4,000 of them.