The three year initiative, led by researchers from the University of Strathclyde, has seen affordable energy supply businesses set up in four villages bringing life changing technology to the local populations.

The university have done this in partnership with the development charity United Purpose and the Centre for Water, Sanitation, Health and Alternative Technology Development in Malawi. It has been supported by a £600,000 grant from the Scottish government and ensures the locals own and operate the equipment. It includes battery chargers and power connections for other small businesses.

Only 12% of Malawi’s 18 million population is connected to the main electricity grid, which falls to a mere 2% in rural areas. For the vast majority of people in Malawi the main energy source is open fires, which puts pressure on the country’s green spaces and forests. The solar powered project was also set up to provide more opportunities and support for local communities.

Professor Stuart Galloway, who led the project, said: “The aim was to make a direct impact on the communities involved so the project doesn’t just provide an engineering solution, but is actually improving lives.”

The new changes have brought in new customers who come to either rent and buy batteries or charge their mobile phones. It has also enabled the creation of many new business start-ups in the villages to take advantage of the capabilities of the new technology. Two schools in Mandrade and Gola, with a combined pupil roll of more than 12,000, are now also supplied by solar energy, along with two health clinics.

Professor Galloway detailed more of the benefits the project has had, particularly on education: “One of the benefits has been that schools which use renewable energy are recording large numbers of students studying at night, and the most recent exam results indicate a substantial improvement in pass rates. “Teachers are also more inclined to come and work in the schools because they have electricity.”

The percentage of households now using renewable energy in the villages the project has reached – Mandrade, Kandeu, Gola and Thendoin – has almost tripled, with energy access improving for more than 4,000 people. Scottish international development minister Ben Macpherson praised the impact of the project and said it was an example of a “commitment to good global citizenship.”

He added: “Implementing efficient energy schemes in rural areas of Malawi will play a major role in alleviating poverty and reducing inequalities in some of the country’s most vulnerable communities.”

“This project will continue to have a life changing impact beyond the three-year grant period through enabling communities to develop new enterprises, supporting schools and helping hospitals.”

The Strathclyde team is now building on the success of the partnership, which ended in September, with a new initiative planned to install micro grids to support solar power in the district of Dedza in Malawi’s central region.

The new project, which has been awarded £1.3m by the Scottish government, will create enough solar energy to connect about 50 households and 20 small businesses.