Back when Techno-Hill Engineering, Ltd. was founded in 2016, the power needs of some 70% of Myanmar’s rural areas were still not being covered reliably by the country’s national grid. Such massive blind spots leave hundreds of villages on islands and remote areas, not to mention thousands upon thousands of Myanma with intermittent and over-priced power – or even no power at all. Perhaps nobody is more affected by these rural energy deficits than Myanmar’s female population.

“When we look at the village women, their daily lives are quite hard,” explains Barani Aung, the female founder who leads the team at Techno-Hill Engineering, Ltd. “They have to wake up early, they have to use firewood to cook, they have to do all the house chores”.

Today however, Techno-Hill’s mini grids are providing power to over 6,600 such households, not to mention, all previously out of reach from the national grid in Myanmar. For many of these women, it’s life-changing.

Not only as a Myanma entrepreneur with a background in engineering, but also as a housewife that Aung herself can understand the impact Techno-Hill is having. “Now that we provide 24-hour electricity, they can use electric cookers… they can save their time! Some households use a washing machine now, or an iron. One lady even started a bakery at her house. Some women [have] opened up shops now.”

Originally setup as a telecommunications concern, Techno-Hill’s raison d’être only came fully into view when the firm found itself seeking power sources for 70 telecommunications tower sites it wanted to install up and down the country. They solved the issue for some off-grid sites by installing new solar power solutions, while others required entirely new mini grids to be put in place.

With guidance from PFAN, Techno-Hill has been able to leverage what were initially unforeseen benefits, and attracted support from a variety of sources. In addition to connecting previously off-grid sites, Techno-Hill is making greener energy more affordable and reliable for thousands of homes and SMEs. Their centralised and hybrid mini grid systems sell more reliable power for less than   previously paid for utterly unreliable and more carbon-costly services.

With a growth model built upon first targeting the villages with the highest potential revenue, Techno-Hill is shooting for the moon, and is aiming to provide electricity to 50,000 households by 2025. The project goes far beyond growing a customer base though. Well aware of the benefits her company’s mini grids provide to Myanma women, Aung sets aside several kilowatt hours of energy free for public services, providing light to thousands in the form of street lamps, or free lighting for schools and hospitals.

All of these developments disproportionately benefit the region’s women, improving access to health and education, providing the opportunity  to walk home safely at night on lit streets and literally providing power to fuel those enterprising new ideas . In five short years, the Techno-Hill has already energized a variety of small businesses run by women entrepreneurs just like Aung. “They have better ideas than us!”, says Aung. “It’s worth it to invest when you see these results … they know how to use electricity.”