This paper presents the rationale, objectives and preliminary research results of the EU-funded project SolChargE. The project addresses the two major barriers for rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): (1) no access to electricity and (2) no access to mobility. Therefore, the project proposes a decentralized transportation hub (DTH) based on a stand-alone solar charging station to harness solar energy and replace transportation which depends on pollutant internal combustion engines. The project targets 33 million smallholder farmers in SSA who rely on transportation to improve the economic success of the agricultural sector in SSA. SSA has abundant access to sunlight, making it a perfect location for solutions based on photovoltaic (PV) technologies. First, the project will develop a stand-alone solar charging station to be able to use solar energy for electric mobility in a decentralized manner in rural areas. Smallholder farmers will benefit from the use of electric vehicles as part of a transportation hub to address their mobility challenges and access to economic success. The vehicles will be utilized to transport agricultural goods, using the electricity generated in the process. To make the service available to the users and run it profitable, the DTH is combined with a service model that provides on-demand transportation. The impact of the system will be tested in Ethiopia and South Africa and the whole DTH will be evaluated with a life cycle analysis (LCA). The LCA addresses the potential to reduce the environmental impact of electric vehicles and the solar charging station with the means of circular economy.