Last week, South Africa’s Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, visited Stage Zero’s manufacturing facility and head office in Cape Town.

The Minister was accompanied by his advisors, Silas Zimu and Jaco de la Rouviere, and was hosted by members of the Stage Zero leadership team, including co-founders Anton Botes and Riaan Botes, Chief Operating Officer Peter Westermann, and Head of Channel Elise De Meillon. Peter Westermann led the visit, guiding discussions and the factory tour.

The visit included discussions on how distributed renewable energy can scale further into underserved communities. As South Africa continues its energy transition, expanding access to affordable, reliable solar and backup power is critical not only for economic growth but also for inclusive development.

The discussion centred on the view that energy security underpins opportunity. When households and businesses have access to reliable power, they are better positioned to operate, grow, and create jobs. The discussion focused on how distributed renewable energy can strengthen grid resilience while expanding access to sustainable power in urban, peri-urban, and underserved areas.

It outlined how public- and private-sector collaboration can support the rollout of small-scale embedded generation across municipalities while advancing local manufacturing, skills development, and job creation. Stage Zero’s vertically integrated model, which combines design, manufacturing, deployment, and ongoing management, reflects how local manufacturing can support the country’s broader energy objectives.

Following the roundtable discussions, the Minister and his team toured Stage Zero’s 7,000m² production facility. The visit provided an overview of our locally developed battery and inverter systems, advanced quality-control processes, and proprietary controller and NRS-certified metering technology. From production lines to testing stations, the tour highlighted the skilled South African teams and systems that power our operations.

Local manufacturing is an investment in South Africa’s industrial capability and human capital. By building products domestically and supporting a growing workforce, Stage Zero contributes to sustainable employment while ensuring quality, compliance and innovation remain central to our offering. Today, Stage Zero employs more than 200 South Africans, has created over 750 indirect jobs, and operates across more than 30 municipalities nationwide.

Our model is designed to make solar and backup solutions accessible and financially viable from day one. By combining solar generation, intelligent battery storage and smart energy management, we enable customers to reduce electricity costs while increasing resilience against outages. Importantly, scalable rental solutions help lower the barriers to entry for renewable energy adoption, enabling broader segments of the market to participate in the energy transition.

As distributed generation becomes a more established part of South Africa’s energy mix, continued engagement between policymakers and operational manufacturers will remain important. Alignment on standards, compliance, and implementation will shape how effectively the sector scales across municipalities.

Stage Zero will continue to invest in local manufacturing, skills development, and employment, while supporting regulatory clarity that enables the responsible, sustainable expansion of embedded generation.