Mawuli Tse works on a portable solar unit at his workshop in Nashville.
Credit: Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean)

Nashville resident Mawuli Tse has brought solar power to more than 600 homes in urban parts of Ghana and nearby countries through his company, Solar Light.

Now, he is using energy from the sun to help those in more rural communities — this time through street vendor umbrellas and a mobile phone charging kit.

With the help of a $100,000 grant from the United States African Development Foundation and General Electric, Tse is creating a portable charger powered by solar panels that fit on top of large umbrellas that often accompany street vendors’ stands.

The charger can provide vendors with an extra source of income as customers pay to charge their phones. The solar product, called “Sunana,” will also mean additional power options for the vendors, whose homes typically lack access to an electrical grid.

“At the end of the day […]