I don't understand this space very well, but I wonder if an iFixit-esque solution would work there: publish DIY guides on identifying and fixing common faults, and have a network of sellers for replacement parts and tools.
Absolutely a possibility. Solar systems, especially when not connected to a grid, are fairly simple beasts at the end of the day. Simple enough that I've seen more than a few youtube videos where guys build out their own custom solar system on a van.
There's only a few parts that go bad (it's probably a capacitor somewhere).
I maintain a 20 year old Corolla, which is incredibly common throughout Africa (exported 2nd/3rd/4th hand).
But users from there rarely pop up in the forums or anywhere else I’ve found.
I dunno how they diagnose obscure condition XYZ without the like 9 retired mechanics on the forum.
Do they all use closed WhatsApp groups? Do they just consume tech info but not produce?
I appreciate they don’t all speak English, nor a language that Google Translate is good at.
They’ve gotta be dealing with the same problems we do fixing these, if not more.