One time for all the entrepreneurs lighting things up across our continent.
A big & extra special shout out to those tackling problems like this with renewable energy in mind.
On this week’s Tech Talk;
we are discussing
SOLAR POWER –or energy, yah nerd you– with a twist !
A pay-as-you-go business model flare.
In order to make a phone call, one must have credit.
You know,
purchase a refill card, blah, blah, replenish your account & continue binge watching whatever.
M-KOPA Solar ; “M” stands for mobile, & the “KOPA” for borrow.
See what they did there ?
Did you really peep that?
They created a business model around it. & here’s how it works:
IF You Live In a Place Without An Electric Grid & You’re In Kenya; or Uganda
Simply head down to see your nearest local M-KOPA “Outlet”. You see M-KOPA likes to refer to their company representatives as “outlets”, these also happen to be the same company representatives for M-PESA -“M” for mobile & PESA stands for money.
M-PESA is a mobile based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service; launched in 2007 by Vodafone for Safaricom and Vodacom. Their main territory base is in Kenya and Tanzania, with operations in other african markets. Not to mention all the work they putting into Afghanistan, India, Romania and Albania.
So yeah, they have strong strategic partnerships but we digress.
Got a bit of topic there…. so simply head down to your local “Outlet/M-PESA” retailer to pick up a kit.
The M-KOPA IV Solar Home System includes:
- 1 solar panel
- 1 control unit (sim enabled, & a USB port for charging cellphones)
- 3 low-energy LED light bulbs (one of which is rechargeable flashlight)
- Rechargeable radio
After a 15-20% down payment of 3, 587.50 Kenyan Shillings ~$35, customers can take their solar panels home. They are allowed up top a year to pay them off, with a minimum rate of 40 Kenyan Shillings ~$0.45 per day.
Basically the exact amount a typical kerosene user spends per day.
Sounds super convenient right?
The “Outlets” pay an upfront deposit to sell a solar panel.
Stake in the action, or a strategy to increasing payback rates?
Or a way to hold them for ransom in the event that a customer defaults on their monthly payemts?
It’s quite interesting food for thought.
M-KOPA is basically:
Leveraging a service and habit consumers are already quite familiar with, something already being utilized on a daily basis. Ensuring local retailers have a stake in too could possibly ensure higher repay rates. The latter is effective because of the extra local and cultural cantilever.
M-KOPA is also”SIM ENABLED”. This means; No pay = an immediate remote no power.
But enough business talk. The devil may be working, but the M-KOPA team is working harder trying to generate clean renewable energy to various locations around the world.
Did We Also Mention These Niggas Hiring.
If you’ve been looking to make that transition to the motherland, why not secure a job, a means to take care of yourself making your move possibly easier?
Hey,
It’s a Win
Win situation
Here’s a list of some of their accomplishments #putsomerespeckontheirname
- #34 MIT 50 Smartest Companies List.
- Obama Cosign
- Plan to source all PV panels from Kenya [Domestic solar panel manufacturing +1pts National GDP].
Currently M-KOPA connects over 630,000 homes in Uganda. We can see the clear and obvious growth.
