Kenya's M-KOPA Solar brings high-quality solar energy to homes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda using a pay-per-use installment plan.
A number of African countries have persistent issues with inconsistent power supplies and many houses live off the grid because of a lack of infrastructure. Seeing a ready solution to this problem, M-KOPA founder Nick Hughs designed a system that has now become the world’s leading pay-as-you-go energy provider in Kenya.
The company sells solar systems to customers for a small deposit. Customers then purchase daily usage “credits” for less than the price of traditional kerosene lighting.
After one year of payments, customers own their solar systems outright and can upgrade to more power.
“We’re very pleased to have the world’s leading sustainability investors and entrepreneurs backing us at M-KOPA. We’re proving that solar power for the off-grid world will be transformative for customers, good for the planet and profitable for investors. In just three years, we’ve reached over a quarter-million homes across three countries and we are just getting started,” said Jesse Moore, CEO and Co-Founder, in 2015.
As of January this year, the company has connected over 600,000 homes to affordable solar power.
More on solar energy:
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Solar Grill makes cooking easier in areas with no electricity
Leroy Mwasaru on starting a renewable emergy business in Kenya run by teenagers
