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12 Startups Making Waves In Africa’s Off-Grid Electricity Market

12 Startups Making Waves In Africa’s Off-Grid Electricity Market

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About 585 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. This is 48 percent of the global population that is not connected to electricity.

This has created the need to have alternative energy models that are affordable to the African population. Several off-grid electricity startups are making strides in the provision of clean energy.

Some of the 12 startups making wave in Africa’s off-grid electricity market are;

Sources; Clean Technica, Disrupt Africa, Financial Times, Disrupt Africa, How We Made It In Africa, techpoint.ng, African Business Central, East African Business Week, Ugesi Gold, Forbes

Mobisol technicians fixing a solar panel on a roof top
Mobisol technicians fixing a solar panel on a roof top (Image: plugintheworld.com)

Mobisol

It is a German-based solar power firm with operations in East Africa. Mobisol was founded by Thomas Gottschalk in Berlin, Germany in 2010. Mobisol claims to have installed over 50,000 systems on both households and business enterprises in East Africa, enabling about 250,000 beneficiaries to access affordable and clean solar energy. It is the largest off-grid electricity provider in East Africa, with key markets in Tanzania and Rwanda. In April 2016, it won the Ecosummit Award 2016 in Berlin for the best green startups in Europe.

Shakti lamp 1 (Image: powertime.co.za)
Shakti lamp 1 (Image: powertime.co.za)

Shakti Energy

It is a South African firm with operations in Western Cape region. Shakti Energy provides LED powered lights that provide up to 20 hours of light. It also provides Nuru PowerCycle which use pedal power on generators to charge mobile phones and Nuru lights. The PowerCycle takes 20 minutes of pedaling to fully charge five Nuru lights. It costs $8 to acquire a Nuru LED light. Shakti energy plans to expand operations into Gauteng and Eastern Cape.

Image: disrupt-africa.com
Image: disrupt-africa.com

Solynta Energy

It was founded by Uvie Ugono in Nigeria in March, 2013. It has spread its operations into neighboring Ghana. The startup plans to launch operations in South Africa this year. Solynta Energy has installed its systems in schools, business enterprises and health facilities without major corporate support. In 2014, it set up Bakka Oil, the first solar powered filling station in Abuja. Solynta Energy plans to list on the London Stock Exchange by 2018.

offgrid-electric.com
offgrid-electric.com

Off Grid Electric

It was founded in 2011 in Tanzania. It has M-POWER, a solar model to provide clean and affordable electricity. Customers pay using mobile money service M-Pesa, which helps them regulate how and when they pay. They pay an installation fee of $6. Off Grid Electric then installs a self-sustaining solar system complete with panels, lithium battery, super –efficient lights and a meter. In addition to electricity, the startup provides LED lights which deliver more light than candles or kerosene lamps do. In Tanzania, it installs over 10,000 systems each month and already employed 800 people. In 2015, it raised $25 million. This was an increase of $9million from the amount raised in 2014. Both initiatives were supported by SolarCity. Off Grid Electric has operations in Tanzania and Rwanda.

Image: linkedin.com
Image: linkedin.com

Ugesi Gold

It is a South African startup. Ugesi Gold was founded by James van der Walt, an engineer in 2012. Ugesi Gold provides a solar battery charging station, which are known as SolarTurtles. They charge battery packs which are then carried home. The SolarTurtles act as energy wells, with batteries described as buckets for carrying the electricity home for domestic use. The batteries are designed for use by women.

Image: unreasonable.is
Image: unreasonable.is

Juabar

It was introduced in Tanzania by Olivia Nava and Sachi DeCou in 2012. Juabar — a Swahili word for ‘solar bar’– is a solar-powered phone charging kiosk. It uses a 50W solar-PV system and charges 10-20 mobile phones or other small electronic appliances at once. The kiosks are run by selected entrepreneurs in the rural parts of Tanzania. It costs about $600 to install a Juabar. It started operating in the Morogoro and Pwani regions of the country.

Solar Panel Leasing
A child in Kenya holds a solar light sold by M-Kopa. Photo: gigaom.com

M-Kopa

It is a Kenyan startup that was founded in 2011 by Chad Larson, Nick Hughes and Jesse Moore. M-Kopa system charges two lights, a torch and a radio which are all provided by the company. It uses a mobile data chip that enables customers to buy credit for their electricity using mobile money transfer service, M-Pesa. Customers pay a down payment of about $35 followed by daily installments of $0.50 for a year which enable them to get solar energy each day. It has 300,000 customers spread across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. About 80 percent of these customers are in Kenya.

Image: SolarNow
Image: SolarNow

SolarNow

It is a Ugandan startup that was founded in 2011. It sells solar systems to people in rural Uganda with an 18-month credit period to enable them pay. SolarNow has more than 45 branches across Uganda. Its average solar system costs $800. SolarNow only operates in Uganda but has plans to expand further in the East African region. In May 2016, SolarNow secured $2 million in loan from SunFunder, an off-grid solar financier, to finance its expansion and enable customers acquire solar systems on 24-month payment basis. It has sold over 10,000 solar systems.

Image: gizmag.com
Image: gizmag.com

SolarKiosk

It was founded in 2011 with its headquarters in Germany. It offers kiosks that are fitted with solar panels on top in areas that have no access to an electricity grid. It is a solar-powered business hub.  SolarKiosk provides services such as battery charging, communication, refrigeration and access to technology and information. The system has an Aluminum frame, a fully integrated and secured electricity and power inverter, charge controller, remote control monitoring battery system and a PV system with at least 1 kWp PV. It has operations in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Image: gsma.com
Image: gsma.com

PEG Ghana

It is a Ghanaian solar energy firm that was founded in 2013. It provides solar solutions on credit to households in Ghana. It is the largest Pay-As-You-Go financing company in provision of off-grid electricity. PEG Ghana mainly serves rural parts and other customers that are considered risky by banks to guarantee loans to acquire electricity. It has over 10,000 customers in the country, with 29 service centres in seven regions. In June 2016, it acquired USD7.5 million to strengthen its operations in Ghana and enter Ivory Coast.

Image: ignitese.co.uk
Image: ignitese.co.uk

Ignite Power Limited

It is a Mauritian firm providing off-grid electricity solutions. In February 2016, it partnered with the Rwandan Government to provide solar energy to 250,000 households by 2018. The startup installed 1,000 solar power systems in Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Kayonza, Rwamagana, Rulindo, Gakenke and Kamonyi districts as part of its pilot project in providing off-grid electricity. The beneficiaries will have two years to pay for the system, through weekly and monthly timelines based on the contract terms.

solar power purchase agreements
Photo: solardepotng.com

Freedom Won

It was founded in South Africa in 2011. Freedom Won provides both clean energy and electric vehicle solutions. It has built several vehicles, mainly for safari drives in exploring wildlife in Africa. The first one was Freedom1, a Jeep grand Cherokee built in 2014. It has also created FreedomCOR, which uses lithium-ion batteries to store energy. They are used for both residential and industrial purposes and range in size from 5 kilowatt hours to 30 kilowatt hours. They can last up to 13 years.