Kenya’s M-KOPA Solar raises $19 million for expansion

M-KOPA Solar, a pay-as-you-go energy provider to off-grid homes, has acquired financing worth Ksh1.9 billion (US$19 million) for expansion.

In Kenya the cell phone is being used to transform the way that people consume energy. M-KOPA Solar – the word ‘kopa’ is kiswahili for ‘borrowed’ – is a Nairobi-based business that has pioneered the idea of “pay-as-you-go” solar energy in Africa.

M-KOPA provides off-grid customers a way to leapfrog over expensive grid power and benefit from solar power on their own roof. It comprises of solar battery-powered home system – which includes 2 bulbs, a phone-charging facility and a chargeable radio.

The firm said the new investment from Generation Investment Management LLP and others will be used to further expand the company’s management team, product range and international operations.

“We are very pleased to have the world’s leading sustainability investors and entrepreneurs backing us at M-KOPA,” Jesse Moore, CEO and Co-Founder, M-KOPA said in a statement.

Generation Investment Management, founded by former US Vice President Al Gore together with David Blood, led the round, which also includes new investments by Richard Branson, (founder of Virgin Group), and Jean and Steve Case (founder of AOL) as well as reinvestment by existing shareholders.

In just 3 years since commercial launch, M-KOPA has connected more than 280,000 homes in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to solar power.
The firm now says it is still on course to reach its initial target of one million homes in East Africa by end 2017.

This is the fifth financing round the firm has made since launch.

Presently, Kenyan households spend up to 10 percent of their monthly income on energy, according to a recent study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Turning to renewable energy sources in Kenya, especially solar, can increase the coverage of energy demand substantially, and potentially release funds for other domestic needs in the homes.

Buyers own the M-Kopa solar kit once they are done paying the daily fee of Ksh40 (US$0.39) over a period of 365 days through the M-Pesa (mobile money) platform.

Source: The East African