Solar-powered tricycles make a lot of business sense for Zimbabwe's small-scale farmers, since transport has always been inadequate in the sparsely populated rural areas of Zimbabwe, where women often had to walk long distances carrying heavy loads on their heads to trade products, which sometimes unfortunately spoilt on the way in the heat.

But the idea of addressing the problem with electric three-wheelers did not catch on quickly, said Shantha Bloemen, who is the director of the company who is assembling the off-road three-wheelers: "It was very lonely when we started," she said. "No one was talking about electric mobility in Africa let alone for rural women."

But after three years, the social enterprise is now planning to more than triple its current fleet of 88 motorised vehicles by the end of 2022, and already operates three solar-powered recharging stations.