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‘Saudi Winter’ Features 1,000 Events for Unforgettable Experiences

Riyadh hosts the world’s largest winter entertainment events (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh hosts the world’s largest winter entertainment events (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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‘Saudi Winter’ Features 1,000 Events for Unforgettable Experiences

Riyadh hosts the world’s largest winter entertainment events (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh hosts the world’s largest winter entertainment events (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) launched the “Saudi Winter” events calendar on Saturday, highlighting seven key destinations across the kingdom.

Visitors from around the world can enjoy over 1,000 experiences and events, along with more than 500 special offers.

The Saudi Winter calendar includes events and activities scheduled to take place in 7 destinations: Riyadh, Jeddah, AlUla, the Red Sea, the Eastern Province, Madinah, and Hail.

The events will run from October 2024 until the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Moreover, the Winter calendar includes several outstanding events and seasons, such as Riyadh Season, Diriyah Season, AlUla Season, Madinah Season, and the Jeddah Calendar.

Additionally, it features special experiences such as the Dakar Rally, MDL Beast, Saudi Cruise, and the Islamic Arts Biennale. It also includes hiking trails, camps and caravans in winter destinations.

The Visit Saudi platform provides more details on the Saudi Winter Program 2024-2025, special offers, promotions and packages. The first phase of the program involves more than 50 offers in collaboration with private sector partners.

Recently, the Minister of Tourism and the STA’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb, announced the launch of the Program, during a workshop with tourism stakeholders to discuss the recent achievements, goals and challenges.

“With the unwavering support of the Kingdom’s leadership to the tourism sector, and with the efforts of the tourism sector and private sector partners, we launch the Saudi Winter calendar, as part of the Saudi Winter Program,” he said.

“This raises our hopes and aspirations to achieve new remarkable milestones, underscoring our efforts to attract more tourists through the ongoing campaigns that target local and international markets,” added Al-Khateeb.

On this occasion, the CEO of the STA, Fahd Hamidaddin, emphasized the progress of Saudi tourism, highlighting the recent accomplishments and record-breaking figures.

He also invited tourists from around the world to enjoy the Saudi Winter program, which has tripled the number of events and activities compared to last year, and offers unprecedented packages and offers that suit various categories of tourists.

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Solar Power Companies Are Growing Fast in Africa, Where 600 Million Still Lack Electricity

A young man stands by a community radio station solar setup sponsored by a German NGO in Gushegu northern, Ghana, Friday Sept. 6, 2024. (AP)
A young man stands by a community radio station solar setup sponsored by a German NGO in Gushegu northern, Ghana, Friday Sept. 6, 2024. (AP)
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Solar Power Companies Are Growing Fast in Africa, Where 600 Million Still Lack Electricity

A young man stands by a community radio station solar setup sponsored by a German NGO in Gushegu northern, Ghana, Friday Sept. 6, 2024. (AP)
A young man stands by a community radio station solar setup sponsored by a German NGO in Gushegu northern, Ghana, Friday Sept. 6, 2024. (AP)

Companies that bring solar power to some of the poorest homes in Central and West Africa are said to be among the fastest growing on a continent whose governments have long struggled to address some of the world's worst infrastructure and the complications of climate change.

The often African-owned companies operate in areas where the vast majority of people live disconnected from the electricity grid, and offer products ranging from solar-powered lamps that allow children to study at night to elaborate home systems that power kitchen appliances and plasma televisions. Prices range from less than $20 for a solar-powered lamp to thousands of dollars for home appliances and entertainment systems.

Central and West Africa have some of the world’s lowest electrification rates. In West Africa, where 220 million people live without power, this is as low as 8%, according to the World Bank. Many rely on expensive kerosene and other fuels that fill homes and businesses with fumes and risk causing fires.

At the last United Nations climate summit, the world agreed on the goal of tripling the capacity for renewable power generation by 2050. While the African continent is responsible for hardly any carbon emissions relative to its size, solar has become one relatively cost-effective way to provide electricity.

The International Energy Agency, in a report earlier this year, said small and medium-sized solar companies are making rapid progress reaching homes but more needs to be invested to reach all African homes and businesses by 2030.

About 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, it said, out of a population of more than 1.3 billion.

Among the companies that made the Financial Times' annual ranking of Africa's fastest growing companies of 2023 was Easy Solar, a locally owned firm that brings solar power to homes and businesses in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The ranking went by compound annual growth rate in revenue.

Co-founder Nthabiseng Mosia grew up in Ghana with frequent power cuts. She became interested in solving energy problems in Africa while at graduate school in the United States. Together with a US classmate, she launched the company in Sierra Leone with electrification rates among the lowest in West Africa.

"There wasn’t really anybody doing solar at scale. And so we thought it was a good opportunity,” Mosia said in an interview.

Since launching in 2016, Easy Solar has brought solar power to over a million people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, which have a combined population of more than 14 million. The company’s network includes agents and shops in all of Sierra Leone’s 16 districts and seven of nine counties in Liberia.

Many communities have been connected to a stable source of power for the first time. “We really want to go to the last mile deep into the rural areas,” Mosia said.

The company began with a pilot project in Songo, a community on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. Uptake was slow at first, Mosia said. Villagers worried about the cost of solar-powered appliances, but once they began to see light in their neighbors’ homes at night, more signed on.

“We have long forgotten about kerosene,” said Haroun Patrick Samai, a Songo resident and land surveyor. “Before Easy Solar we lived in constant danger of a fire outbreak from the use of candles and kerosene."

Altech, a solar power company based in Congo, also ranked as one of Africa's fastest growing companies. Fewer than 20% of the population in Congo has access to electricity, according to the World Bank.

Co-founders Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao fled conflict in Congo's South Kivu province as children and grew up in Tanzania. They decided to launch the company in 2013 to help solve the power problems they had experienced growing up in a refugee camp, relying on kerosene for power and competing with family members for light to study at night.

Altech now operates in 23 out of 26 provinces in Congo, and the company expects to reach the remaining ones by the end of the year. Its founders say they have sold over 1 million products in Congo in a range of solar-powered solutions for homes and businesses, including lighting, appliances, home systems and generators.

“For the majority of our customers, this is the first time they are connected to a power source,” Malango said.

Repayment rates are over 90%, Malango said, helped in part by a system that can turn off power to appliances remotely if people don't pay.