In June 2020, residents of the remote village of Mthembanji in Malawi’s Dedza district welcomed the arrival of a 20-foot shipping container. It held the components of a 12-kilowatt solar-powered microgrid – to provide 60 homes and small businesses with a supply of electricity for the first time. Following close consultation with community members, its arrival sparked a host of training and capacity building initiatives, opportunities for local income generation and improvement of life at household level.