YY ReGen is committed to transforming the way our customers ventures are powered, watered and grown,
with a focus on a more affordable, less pollutive, and more regenerative approach – partnering with our clients
in creating a sustainable future in our beloved region.
1. What inspired you to establish YY ReGen? How did you come up with the idea?
Ever since the end of the Lebanese civil war, Lebanon has been troubled with energy security drastically affecting the ease of doing business which in turn reflected poorly on the country’s economic development and prosperity. The outbreak of the economic crisis in 2020 and the skyrocketing prices of fuel worldwide due to geopolitical instabilities further exacerbated the situation creating a huge, underserved basic need in the Lebanese market: access to energy.
Many people and businesses with financing facilities resorted to installing fixed solar systems while others who can’t afford the high capital costs of such systems turned to diesel generators which are polluting, expensive, and environmentally unsustainable. As a team of engineers possessing the relevant know-how and expertise, we wanted to bring a third solution to the market that is cheaper, cleaner and doesn’t require any capital investment. We created ReGen-R8, the first on-demand solar energy system with the Energy-as-a-Service model where the customers, mainly farmers and rural businesses, can get access to clean power easily and risk-free. We wanted to take the hassle out of the whole process of electricity provision by being a customer-first organization focused on understanding the pain points of our customers and providing relevant solutions.
2. What makes YY ReGen unique and different from other solutions within the market?
We currently do not have any direct competitors in the Lebanese market. Our indirect competitors are diesel generators and companies which provide fixed solar systems. We are the first and only company in Lebanon to provide the Energy-as-a-Service model for solar power and this is surely a differentiating factor. We are greatly focused on providing a seamless customer experience which is one of the key pillars for our company’s success, getting recurring business, and having satisfied customers. This all enabled using technology as our solution leverages IoT to provide constant monitoring of the system to provide prompt maintenance in case of any technical issues.
3. What are the challenges you faced while launching your business and how did you overcome them?
The main challenge that we faced is being able to validate our market and verify the product-market fit in a fast manner without having to invest a lot of money and resources. This is a problem that is typically faced by almost all startups and could make or break an idea. For this, we thought that the best solution is to capitalize on the plethora of opportunities that the Lebanese entrepreneurship ecosystem can bring. We identified and applied to incubators that are focused on early-stage startups and got all the business and financial support that helped us build and pilot our first MVP.
Given that our main customer segment is farmers in rural areas with limited knowledge and access to technology, another problem we faced is in being able to ensure that our customers fully benefit from the technology part of the solution. For that, we resorted to focusing group discussions with our customers to understand which tech- platforms they are most comfortable using (website, mobile app, social media outlet, etc..).
4. In your opinion, what is the key to success? What is an advice that you would give other startups in the industry?
In my opinion and based on our experience in the startup, the key to success is being resourceful, perseverant, and ambitious. Creating a startup from the ground up is not an easy task, especially with limited access to resources at the early stages, so being ahead of the curve in terms of foreseeing potential obstacles and preemptively planning for solutions is very important for the business’s success. Investing in knowledge is the best investment a startup founder can do! I would advise all startup founders to invest in being on top of things knowing all about their market, customers, technology, competitors, partners, investors, etc… Also, it is not enough to keep on trying, it is crucial to be trying in the right direction by taking the time to reflect on and learn from previous failures and ask for help when needed.
5. What should we expect next from YY ReGen?
At YY ReGen, we aim to become the market leader in providing Energy-as-a-Service models that cater to the needs of the Lebanese market and eventually other markets in the MENA region. We plan to exponentially grow our operations to reach all the Lebanese territories within a coming couple of months. We are also focusing on leveraging the data that we get from our monitoring system to create predictive maintenance software that allows for decreasing O&M costs and extending equipment life.
