Safaricom and M-KOPA Unveil Kshs.40 a Day Solar Unit

19th October 2012… Leading Integrated communications service provider Safaricom Limited has in partnership with M-KOPA launched the first ever GSM enabled pay-as-you-go solar solution in the world that customer pay for using mobile money. Using embedded Safaricom enabled sim cards, M-KOPA Solar allows a customer to enjoy the use of a d.light solar home system, while paying daily installments of Kshs.40 via M-PESA for a period of one year. An initial deposit ofKshs.2,500 applies, following which customers pay for usage at their convenience. 

This credit-sale model is targeted at low income households in rural areas currently dependent on kerosene for lighting and local mobile bureaus for phone charging. An estimated 3 million Kenyan homes or 80% of the population living off the power grid spend an average of Kshs.70 daily on kerosene and phone charging. 

"The barrier to large-scale adoption of solar lighting has been the high upfront cost of ahome system, which makes it unaffordable to the majority of Kenyans. Indeed the penetration of solar lighting products in Africa as a whole remains at less than 2%. M-KOPA Solar has been developed to remove this barrier by making solar home systems affordable and accessible to low income consumers," said Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore.

M-KOPA Solar makes available the d.light Solar Home System, a high quality product which combines 3 bright bulbs and a mobile phone charging to meet the needs of the average Kenyan family. It has a one year warranty and a product lifespan of 7-10 years. . 

"As with M-PESA, M-KOPA has been designed specifically to suit the needs and budgets of Kenyan consumers. By working with Safaricom, a world leader for mobile innovation, we can spread this new service to all parts of Kenya," Nick Hughes, Chairman of M-KOPA, formerly Global Head of M-PESA for Vodafone Group.

Jesse Moore the Managing Director M-KOPA hailed the M-KOPA solar solution as a great step forward in promoting the clean energy inclusion agenda. 

"M-KOPA succeeds when our customers save money. We have over 1,000 customers in Kenya already, with a wide majority telling us how good it feels to save money while getting far better lighting than with kerosene and the convenience of mobile phone charging at home. We look forward bringing better lighting at lower cost to tens of thousands of homes over the coming year."

M-KOPA solar is currently available in 75 shops in Eldoret and Kitale with plans underway to scale nationwide. Over the next quarter 250 dealers in the North Rift, Nyanza and Western parts of the country will be signed up with a planned roll out for the rest of Rift Valley, Central, Eastern and the Coast planned for next year. 

ENDS

Notes to the editor

About Safaricom-Corporate
Safaricom provides a comprehensive range of services under one roof. This includes mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms. With annual revenues in excess of Kshs 100 Billion and a subscriber base of 19.1 million, Safaricom also hosts Kenya's widest 3G network, the most expansive WIMAX presence alongside a growing fibre optic cable footprint. 
Safaricom pioneered commercial mobile money transfer globally through M-PESA, the most successful such service anywhere in the world. Launched in March 2007 as a money transfer service, M-PESA now has over 15 million customers and over 37,000 Agent outlets countrywide

About M-KOPA
M-KOPA is a mobile technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya. Since 2010 we have helped Kenyans acquire solar power products by offering innovative payment plans and a distribution model tailored to the needs of our customers.

M-KOPA Solar provides affordable solar-powered lighting and mobile charging to rural Kenyans on a pay-as-you-go basis, with payment via M-PESA. Additional products using the same patent-pending technology are in pilot. Our team includes the founder and former executives of Kenya's popular M-PESA mobile money service.

We work with best-in-class partners, including Kenya's leading mobile operator Safaricom, the award winning solar lighting company d.light, and M2M experts eseye. Contact customer care on 0707.333.222 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

About d.light:
d.light is a for-profit social enterprise whose purpose is to create new freedoms for customers without access to reliable power so they can enjoy a brighter future. We aim to transform the lives of at least 100 million people by 2020, and have reached 10 million since founding, currently growing at the rate of 1 million new lives transformed per month.
d.light serves over 40 countries, through over 6,000 retail outlets, 10 field offices, and four regional hubs. The company employs over 200 people directly, and indirectly employs hundreds more worldwide.

19th October 2012… Leading Integrated communications service provider Safaricom Limited has in partnership with M-KOPA launched the first ever GSM enabled pay-as-you-go solar solution in the world that customer pay for using mobile money. Using embedded Safaricom enabled sim cards, M-KOPA Solar allows a customer to enjoy the use of a d.light solar home system, while paying daily installments of Kshs.40 via M-PESA for a period of one year. An initial deposit ofKshs.2,500 applies, following which customers pay for usage at their convenience. 

This credit-sale model is targeted at low income households in rural areas currently dependent on kerosene for lighting and local mobile bureaus for phone charging. An estimated 3 million Kenyan homes or 80% of the population living off the power grid spend an average of Kshs.70 daily on kerosene and phone charging. 

"The barrier to large-scale adoption of solar lighting has been the high upfront cost of ahome system, which makes it unaffordable to the majority of Kenyans. Indeed the penetration of solar lighting products in Africa as a whole remains at less than 2%. M-KOPA Solar has been developed to remove this barrier by making solar home systems affordable and accessible to low income consumers," said Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore.

M-KOPA Solar makes available the d.light Solar Home System, a high quality product which combines 3 bright bulbs and a mobile phone charging to meet the needs of the average Kenyan family. It has a one year warranty and a product lifespan of 7-10 years. . 

"As with M-PESA, M-KOPA has been designed specifically to suit the needs and budgets of Kenyan consumers. By working with Safaricom, a world leader for mobile innovation, we can spread this new service to all parts of Kenya," Nick Hughes, Chairman of M-KOPA, formerly Global Head of M-PESA for Vodafone Group.

Jesse Moore the Managing Director M-KOPA hailed the M-KOPA solar solution as a great step forward in promoting the clean energy inclusion agenda. 

"M-KOPA succeeds when our customers save money. We have over 1,000 customers in Kenya already, with a wide majority telling us how good it feels to save money while getting far better lighting than with kerosene and the convenience of mobile phone charging at home. We look forward bringing better lighting at lower cost to tens of thousands of homes over the coming year."

M-KOPA solar is currently available in 75 shops in Eldoret and Kitale with plans underway to scale nationwide. Over the next quarter 250 dealers in the North Rift, Nyanza and Western parts of the country will be signed up with a planned roll out for the rest of Rift Valley, Central, Eastern and the Coast planned for next year. 

ENDS

Notes to the editor

About Safaricom-Corporate
Safaricom provides a comprehensive range of services under one roof. This includes mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms. With annual revenues in excess of Kshs 100 Billion and a subscriber base of 19.1 million, Safaricom also hosts Kenya's widest 3G network, the most expansive WIMAX presence alongside a growing fibre optic cable footprint. 
Safaricom pioneered commercial mobile money transfer globally through M-PESA, the most successful such service anywhere in the world. Launched in March 2007 as a money transfer service, M-PESA now has over 15 million customers and over 37,000 Agent outlets countrywide

About M-KOPA
M-KOPA is a mobile technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya. Since 2010 we have helped Kenyans acquire solar power products by offering innovative payment plans and a distribution model tailored to the needs of our customers.

M-KOPA Solar provides affordable solar-powered lighting and mobile charging to rural Kenyans on a pay-as-you-go basis, with payment via M-PESA. Additional products using the same patent-pending technology are in pilot. Our team includes the founder and former executives of Kenya's popular M-PESA mobile money service.

We work with best-in-class partners, including Kenya's leading mobile operator Safaricom, the award winning solar lighting company d.light, and M2M experts eseye. Contact customer care on 0707.333.222 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

About d.light:
d.light is a for-profit social enterprise whose purpose is to create new freedoms for customers without access to reliable power so they can enjoy a brighter future. We aim to transform the lives of at least 100 million people by 2020, and have reached 10 million since founding, currently growing at the rate of 1 million new lives transformed per month.
d.light serves over 40 countries, through over 6,000 retail outlets, 10 field offices, and four regional hubs. The company employs over 200 people directly, and indirectly employs hundreds more worldwide.