Electronics company Philips has announced it will install 19 Community Light Centers across Kenya by 2015, using energy efficient solar powered light emitting diodes technology.
Each centre will cover an area of approximately 1,000 square metres.
The project by Philips seeks to create numerous opportunities for social, sporting and economic activities in the evening for rural communities, which live without electricity by creating areas of lights.
“Africa is starting a new reliable solar powered LED lighting revolution which will save energy as well as provide lights for those without electricity,” said Philips East Africa director Roeloi Assies.
The first Community Light Centre will be opened on Tuesday at the Mathare Grounds, next to Mathare Primary School, opposite the Mathare Police Depot.
Philips also announced new healthcare solutions for Kenya, which constitute a new neonatal wing and maternity screening camp in cooperation with the Gertrude Foundation aiming to help children and mothers in Kenya.
“We will be inaugurating the new neonatal wing at the Gertrude Children’s Hospital in Nairobi which is furnished with advanced Philips healthcare imaging and patient-monitoring technology,” he revealed.
Assies said the advances in new technology of the LED lighting Systems will lead to economic and social development across Africa.
The announcement was made during the Nairobi stop of Philips’ fourth consecutive pan-African Cape Town to Cairo road show, which showcases innovations and initiatives in lighting and healthcare that create a meaningful impact on people’s lives in Africa.
Philips is currently installing more than a hundred Community Light Centres across Africa.
