From first impressions to lasting impact: Lessons in community engagement for rural electrification
First impressions matter in all walks of life, and community engagement for rural electrification is no exception. That first meeting can establish you as an organised, competent partner who respects local dynamics – or it can unravel into a collection of missteps that take months to overcome. Forget to call and confirm the night before, and you risk turning up to an empty room. Fail to align with local partners and translators, and you risk finding that the community has been promised free systems while you intended to promote a commercial model. Fix a meeting with people who lack real decision-making power in their community, and you’ll spend months trying to restart the process with the right stakeholders, and make up for the offence caused. Even seemingly minor details have unexpected implications – wear the wrong colours, such as matching the government’s palette, and you’ll instantly create confusion about who you are and what you’re offering. In the realm of rural energy access, these early interactions lay the foundation for everything that follows. The difference between appearing as a reliable, flexible partner and coming across as disorganised or tone-deaf can make or break a project before it even starts.
Building lasting impact begins with understanding that everyone in the room has their own agenda – communities want reliable energy access, local partners need to maintain their long-term relationships in the region, and we as a company are trying to establish commercially viable projects. Those first meetings, when handled well, create space for honest dialogue about these different needs. Show up prepared, respectful, and well-aligned with local partners, and communities feel confident asking hard questions about tariffs and raising concerns about ability to pay. Handle that initial meeting as a conversation rather than a presentation, and you’ll benefit immeasurably from community expertise, finding members offering their own solutions to challenges you haven’t even considered yet. Crucially, get it right with your local partners – those essential cultural bridges whose expertise spans so much more than only translation – and you establish the trust needed for genuine collaboration. These partners understand how decisions really get made and can help navigate the complex web of community relationships. When communities see you working seamlessly with trusted local figures, respecting established channels of communication, and demonstrating flexibility, they begin to view you as a committed partner that they can work together with to achieve their energy access goals.