A project to develop rural Tanzania’s power supply is expected to create around 500 new businesses and benefit local communities.

The Jumeme project, will aim to power around 16 villages in remote areas of the country.

The scheme uses solar-hybrid mini-grids that are designed for use in remote areas – the grids use solar as a primary source and then switch to an alternative when solar power is insufficient.

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) awarded $420,000 (£356,000) to Jumeme – Rural Power Supply Ltd (JRPS) – a joint venture between three partners.

The money will go towards admin fees for early stages of development.

The Tanzanian government has set a target of 30% connectivity by 2015 which involves connecting around 250,000 new customers per year between 2013 and 2017.