Community Spotlight: The Languages of MicroPowerManager
June 19, 2026
Open Source has the power to transform energy access, but only if the right people can get their hands on it, test it, adapt it, and champion it in the places where it matters most. That last part is harder than it sounds.
Great hardware designs and open protocols do not automatically translate into adoption. They travel through people, through practitioners who understand the local context. People who have trusted relationships in their communities and can bridge the gap between a global project and a real-world deployment with its own infrastructure, supply chains, and regulatory environment.
That is the problem the OSEA(Open Source in Energy Access) Ambassador Programme is designed to solve.
Energy challenges are inherently local, and so is community collaboration. Solutions need to be built not only but also adopted and sustained where they are needed.
What the programme is
The OSEA Ambassador Programme is a community-driven initiative managed by EnAccess Foundation. It builds a network of local ambassadors, contributors, practitioners, educators, and community organisers who are empowered to lead Open Source energy access efforts in their own regions.
Ambassadors take on a genuine leadership role. They host local meetups and workshops, support field-based hardware and software testing, and build relationships with universities, maker spaces, NGOs, and energy associations. The aim is to reflect local experience and feed real insights back to the global Open Source community. The goal is local presence that generates global value.
This is not a passive role. It is for people who are already engaged, who see the gap between what Open Source energy tools can do and what is actually happening on the ground, and who want to help close it.
Why local presence changes things
A hardware design that performs well in one environment may behave very differently in another. Humidity, dust, intermittent power, local component availability, import regulations these are not edge cases. They are the reality for the communities that most need access to energy. An ambassador who is trusted, present, and technically engaged in that context does not just raise awareness. They generate the grounded feedback that makes Open Source solutions actually work at scale.
Local presence also opens doors that global outreach cannot. An ambassador at a university in Kampala or a maker space in Lagos can build the kind of relationship with students, engineers, and local government. Furthermore, local energy associations can turn interest into contribution and contribution into sustained adoption.
Where we are starting
Our initial focus is on regions where energy access challenges are most acute and where Open Source solutions have the greatest potential for real-world impact. We are looking at Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, and Mozambique as our starting points: communities with growing technical ecosystems, active energy access work, and practitioners who understand the local context.
These regions are not fixed. As the programme grows, ambassador presence will follow community readiness and the need where it is greatest.
Having local representation in these communities changes what is possible. It means hardware and software can be tested in the conditions they will actually operate in. It means feedback reaches the global community faster and with more context. It means students, engineers, and local organisations have a direct connection to Open Source energy tools and a reason to contribute back.
Our Ambassadors
We are delighted to welcome Charles Moruri, Aloys Aboge Jr, and Jacob Basera as the OSEA community’s first ambassadors, representing Kenya and Mozambique. They are joining us at an exciting moment, as we begin building a network of regional voices who share our commitment to Open Source energy access across Africa and beyond.
Aloys Aboge Jr., based in Nairobi, brings a background in Computer Science and over two years of experience as a Full Stack Software Engineer, delivering end-to-end web and mobile solutions across various industries. He is an active contributor to MicroPowerManager and describes himself as passionate about building solutions that empower Africa.
Also based in Nairobi, Charles Moruri works as a Machine Learning Developer and community advocate. By his own account, he is never tired of learning, and he takes real pleasure in helping other developers advance their skills.
In Mozambique, Jacob Basera founded and leads Sunworld, a platform powered by Salamanga Projects LDA that is advancing universal access to affordable clean energy through Pay-As-You-Go and Energy-as-a-Service solutions. Driven by a passion for Open Source innovation, he connects communities, entrepreneurs, and partners to accelerate sustainable energy access. Sunworld is working towards a future where over one million families across Mozambique and beyond have access to clean energy, and over 500 green jobs have been created for youth and women by 2030.
Together, Charles, Aloys, and Jacob bring local insight and on-the-ground experience that will help shape how our tools and programmes land in real communities. This is just the beginning. More ambassadors from across the globe will be joining us soon, each bringing their own perspectives and knowledge to the Open Source community.
What’s next
The pilot phase is about testing assumptions, building trust, and discovering what meaningful local support actually looks like in practice. We are building something iteratively, with the community, in the open, which is very much in keeping with how we think Open Source should work.
If you are based in one of our pilot regions and already do this kind of work, or know someone who does, we would love to hear from you.
