Mozambique’s National Energy Fund, known as Funae, and Portugal’s Galp Energia signed a partnership protocol in Maputo yesterday to install photovoltaic solar-power systems in rural communities in the African country.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa reports that five villages in the provinces of Maputo, Sofala, Manica and Cabo Delgado fall under the 40-million meticais (US$676,000) project.

The Mozambique government says that between 2005 and 2014, about 700 schools and 600 health centres in rural areas have benefitted from solar-generated power.

A factory was established in 2013 to build solar panels for remote areas that are not supplied by the country’s energy grid.