Years of punishing power cuts have had one unexpected side effect: Zimbabwe now has one of the fastest-growing rooftop solar markets on the continent, with import data showing panel volumes more than tripling over three years.

What began as a coping mechanism for households and small businesses has matured into a genuine industry, with local assembly of inverters and battery packs now underway in Harare's light industrial areas, reducing reliance on fully imported systems.

Financing remains the biggest barrier for lower-income households, but a growing number of pay-as-you-go solar providers — many backed by diaspora investment — are extending systems to customers who could never afford the upfront cost of a full installation.

"We didn't choose to go solar. Load-shedding chose it for us," said one Bulawayo shop owner. "But now that we have it, we're not going back to the grid full-time even if it gets fixed."