East African pay-as-you-go energy provider for off-grid customers M-KOPA Solar has announced it has powered up 200,000 homes in the region, doubling the number of homes connected to its solar home systems in the past eight months.
Disrupt Africa reported in February M-KOPA Solar, which launched in Kenya in October 2012, had closed its fourth round of investment through a US$12.45 million equity and debt deal led by LGT Venture Philanthropy.
In March the startup announced it had connected over 20,000 homes in Uganda to affordable solar power since launching in the country in mid-2013. The company says, as the average M-KOPA household has over five inhabitants, it is now providing power to over one million people across East Africa.
“It took us two years to connect our first 100,000 homes and just eight months to connect our second 100,000 homes. We are pushing hard to grow even faster and reach our goal of one million homes by the end of 2017,” said Jesse Moore, managing director and co-founder of M-KOPA Solar.
M-KOPA is now selling 500 new systems each day across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania through its network of over 1,000 direct sales agents and 85 customer service centres.
The startup allows users to pay for their solar power through an annual payment plan, which includes a deposit of US$35 followed by 365 daily payments of US$0.43. These fees are paid using mobile money, with customers owning their system outright once they complete the payments.
