NFE Checkin - 24/10/2026 Agenda Fundraising Applications Nansana/Sezibwa Solar Deployment Updates Kigali Symposium Customer Pipeline MGM -  Greenvolta and Claude  Minutes (Hillary) Attendees: Aaron Tushabe, Hillary Arinda. Dansturn tried to join but dropped off (connection up and down). Agenda: fundraising applications · Nansana/Sezibwa solar deployment · Kigali symposium · customer pipeline. Added by Hillary: Green Volta's use of the Teams plan and Zoho; MGM. Source: Tactiq transcript (kept privately). Decisions Go after commercial customers first. Aim for roughly 50 to 70% of a 10-customer pipeline to be commercial; take residential customers only when they are serious. Solar is non-negotiable for commercial sites. We sell at the same rate the customer pays Umeme (no sales licence needed at that price); the margin comes from solar (about 30 to 50%), not arbitrage alone (about 10%). Send proposals out. Filter on monthly electricity use; if a lead fits the threshold, Aaron drafts a proposal. Land one large commercial client and execute it well before scaling , while starting conversations now for deployments next year (long lead times for equipment and bank financing). Nansana updates go in the group , so everyone has the same information. Discussion Claude, Zoho and Green Volta's tools Aaron's deeper Claude review mode is more thorough but uses the plan limit much faster; he plans other work around those runs. Esther (Green Volta's general manager, formerly the accountant) connected Zoho to Claude on her machine and it appears to work. Others can't approve the connection, because Green Volta's Zoho is on the free plan with one user. Aaron has moved NFE's accounts to Zoho's new accounting app (launched around June). It also tracks inventory and assets, such as meters on a site or in storage, and it's included in NFE's lifetime plan. That plan cost about $2,100; the same now costs about $2,900 a year. He connected Zoho's MCP server. Green Volta's books could move there too. Nimrod's weekly Claude sessions: Aaron joined the intro and invited Dansturn and Esther. Later sessions will be specific to Nimrod's company. Anthropic's own October webinar was full; we watch for November's. Working more closely with Green Volta Discussed working more closely with Green Volta. Hillary and Dansturn will talk one-on-one. Own battery packs (Hillary) A supplier contact offered to package batteries under our own name and to import directly from China, as SRNE's distributors do. Battery prices rose this week while panel prices fell. Aaron: batteries are over 50% of capex, so a 20% saving matters a lot, and it could become a product for other microgrid developers. This is the next step once a project gives us a reason: for example, test a sample at Nansana, or use the packs for a smaller customer. Fundraising Nairobi (AAA): slow, waiting on a reply to Aaron's email. Africa Minigrid Developers Association: membership is $250 a year and needs audited books. Aaron is getting NFE's books auditable, aiming to apply in January. Audited books would also help with Stanbic financing. Blocker: Green Volta hasn't sent the expense details for the meter and battery installs. Kigali Dansturn travels Sunday night. The goals are to meet the inaccess organisers and the Alliance for Green Energy, who are interested in funding interconnected mini-grids. Aaron supports remotely. Customer pipeline The goal of three customers in the pipeline this quarter is behind; Worship Harvest is the only one, and we're waiting on their reply to our proposal. Ideas: customers of diesel-generator suppliers, and businesses that own their premises (so roofs are available). Dansturn has the most access to commercial leads. Commercial sub-metering looks much like Nansana. CT-connected meters (Chint) are easier to install, but the cost of AMI is still unknown. New leads: Hillary's brother and his wife run a laundromat in Ntinda, Kampala. Get their bills, consider the whole building, and get a soft introduction to the landlord. Aaron knows a salon in Ntinda using about UGX 1.5M of electricity a month. Regulation (ERA and UEDCL) The Nansana arrangement (sub-meters off UEDCL) isn't formally settled with ERA, and the ERA discussions have stalled. They should resume, ideally alongside the next deployment. What we know from Sour Energy and ERA: Below a size threshold, only a certificate of registration is needed. Selling at the regulated price needs no sales licence; selling at a different price does. UEDCL and other sellers can coexist. Fallback if licensing blocks us: a flat monthly lease, or lease-to-own, priced from the project's cost of energy plus margin. That is legally "renting equipment", not selling power, as in Cameroon. Aaron prefers energy-as-a-service, which customers find less risky. EV charging could become a large share of demand. Targeting money already spent on fuel makes the sale easier. Nansana installation Problems: one extra bolt, and the bolts were too long. Bolts are not to be removed when the project is done. As built: an unused vent was removed with the landlord's agreement, and the panels sit on two rails with no gap. The AI layout guide was right apart from the 0.5 m / 1.5 m mark. We're waiting on Dismas's latest update. MGM Milestone 1 (separating NFE's deployment from the public repo) is nearly done, with rollback the remaining check. inaccess has already asked why Cordis rather than npm. Hillary has shared the Cordis position PDF (ADR-001, mgm #27). Aaron will read it and come back with his position. Actions # Action Owner When 1 Get the laundromat's electricity bills and building details; soft introduction to the landlord Hillary this week 2 Reach out to the Ntinda salon (about UGX 1.5M a month) Aaron this week 3 Draft proposals for qualifying commercial leads Aaron as leads qualify 4 Ask Dansturn for commercial leads; work out a lead strategy (generator suppliers, owner-occupied premises) Aaron next week 5 One-on-one with Dansturn on working with Green Volta Hillary before next check-in 7 Send the expense details for the meter and battery installs Green Volta (Esther) ASAP 8 Find out what an audit involves for the association membership and for Stanbic Aaron before January 9 Kigali: meet the inaccess organisers and the Alliance for Green Energy Dansturn (Aaron remote) this weekend 10 Resume ERA discussions Aaron, Dansturn with the next deployment 11 Post the Nansana mounting outcome and next steps in the group Dismas now 12 Update the Nansana layout to as built (vent removed, two rails, no gap) Aaron after Dismas's update 13 Read the Cordis position (mgm #27) and reply Aaron when free 14 Watch for Anthropic's November webinar and register Claude (agent) November 15 Look into own-brand battery packs; test a sample when a project allows Hillary ongoing