????在發達國家，電價低廉，供電隨處可得。但在電力基礎設施薄弱的非洲，缺電很常見。人們用汽車蓄電池為手機充電。煤油燈是常用的照明設備，但同時也非常臟和危險。

????由于各國電網增長速度遠遠落后于需求增長，越來越多的非洲人不再尋求基于化石燃料的集中化解決方式，而是轉向了太陽能。

????迄今為止，太陽能發電在非洲能源構成中只是一個輔助角色，但太陽能利用的增長標志著非洲地區向可再生資源的轉向。2004年，非洲的可再生能源行業規模還只有7.50億美元。2011年，這個數字已經達到36億美元。去年年末，聯合國預計，到2020年，非洲的可再生能源行業規模將達到570億美元。

????太陽能特別適合非洲中部和東部光照充足的赤道地區，一位創業者說：“這里，能源每天都照在我們頭上。”最近幾年，這個地區已經成為可再生能源的天堂，一些科技領先的小公司迫切希望能從南半球對能源的渴求中挖掘商機。

????總部位于美國硅谷的Fenix International就是這樣一家公司。這家公司開發出了一種即插即用的電池ReadySet，可以通過太陽能電池板或自行車充電。雖然ReadySet擁有一系列的功能（它擁有USB接口和汽車點煙器接口），但它的設計主要是幫助用戶在沒有電網的地方為手機充電。

????根據移動運營商行業協會GSMA的數據，今年一季度，撒哈拉以南非洲地區的手機入網總數超過了5億。這個數字預計在未來5年還將再增加2.50億。在非洲，很多人擁有手機，但不一定有供電。他們是全球缺電手機用戶的一部分，這些用戶2009年預計為5億人。沒有電力供應，意味著很多電池沒電。

????“非洲的手機入網增長速度非常驚人，”Fenix的CEO兼創始人林麥克（音譯）說“這是我們看中的機會。”

????迄今為止，Fenix已經在烏干達賣出了3,000套ReadySet（烏干達的銷售辦公室是Fenix最大的一個），在全球共售出5,000套。早期用戶包括一些創業者，他們使用ReadySet為當地手機用戶提供收費充電服務。

????“它就像一個迷你許可，”Fenix東非地區總監林賽?漢德勒說“它是一個可以規模化的簡單解決方案。用這個箱子，人們一年可以獲得穩定的收入。”

????起初以10萬美元信用卡貸款白手起家創立這家公司的林麥克最近完成了新一輪融資，吸引到了法國電信公司Orange和能源管理公司施耐德電氣（Schneider Electric）這樣的大型企業投資者。林麥克預計，Fenix將在未來兩、三年實現盈利。

????In the developed world, electricity is cheap and as available as the nearest outlet. But in off-the-grid Africa, energy poverty is endemic. Car batteries are tapped to charge mobile phones. Kerosene is a popular light source -- as well as a dirty, dangerous one.

????With national grid expansion lagging well behind growth in demand, increasingly Africans are looking not to centralized, fossil fuel-based solutions, but to the sun.

????To date, solar power plays only an auxiliary role in Africa's energy mix, but growth in solar use is emblematic of a regional shift toward renewables. In 2004, the African renewable energy sector was valued at $750 million. By 2011, it reached $3.6 billion. Late last year, the U.N. projected that by 2020 the value of the African renewable energy sector would reach $57 billion.

????Solar is particularly well-suited to sunny, equatorial Central and East Africa, where, in the words of one entrepreneur, "energy is every day beating people on the head." In recent years, the region has become a haven for renewable energy, spearheaded by small, tech-savvy companies keen to capitalize on the global south's hunger for energy.

????Silicon Valley-based Fenix International is one such firm. The company developed the ReadySet unit, a plug-and-play battery that can be charged either by solar panels or bicycle. While the ReadySet has a range of functions -- it has USB and car cigarette lighter ports -- it was primarily designed to assist mobile phone charging in off-the-grid markets.

????According to GSMA, a mobile operators trade association, total mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa surpassed 500 million in the first quarter of this year. That number is expected to grow by another 250 million over the next five years. In Africa, more people have a mobile phone than electricity. They're part of a global population of off-the-grid mobile users that, in 2009, was estimated at 500 million. Without access to power, that's a lot of dead batteries.

????"The growth in mobile connections in Africa is tremendous," said Mike Lin, Fenix's CEO and founder. "This is the canary we're looking at."

????To date, Fenix has sold 3,000 ReadySet units in Uganda, where the company maintains its largest field office, and 5,000 total worldwide. Early adopters include entrepreneurs who use the ReadySet to provide local phone charging for a fee.

????"It's almost like a mini-franchise," said Fenix's Lyndsay Handler, the company's regional director in East Africa. "It's a simple solution that's scalable. Right out of the box, people can produce a smooth income over the course of the year."

????Lin, who initially shoe-stringed the company with $100,000 in credit card debt, recently concluded a new fundraising round, enticing major corporate investors like Orange, the French telecom, and Schneider Electric, an energy management firm. Lin expects Fenix to reach profitability in the next two to three years.