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Greenlight Planet partners with telecom operators in sub-Saharan Africa

A customer using mobile money to pay for his Sun King EasyBuy solar home system. (Image source: Greenlight Planet)

Greenlight Planet, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar service provider, has partnered with telecom operators in Africa to recognise the natural synergy between the telecom and pay-as-you-go solar industries

The initiative is in line with the company’s aim to pursuing a telecom-focused strategy to have a far-reaching impact on more than 600mn unelectrified consumers across the African continent.

The company has collaborated with more than 15 telecom operators, banks and payment gateways to make Sun King products more affordable and accessible for rural individuals, increasing long-term value for a common consumer base. Full-fledged sales and distribution partnerships have been launched with three leading telecom operators, Vodacom (Tanzania), Orange (Burkina Faso) and Telma (Madagascar), to enable sales of solar-powered energy solutions through each operator's subscriber base and mobile money channels. 

In addition, Greenlight Planet has integrated its innovative PAYG technology platform with leading mobile money providers across sub-Saharan Africa, enabling consumers to make continuous installment payments in a secure and simple way. Greenlight Planet establishes unique operating models with each telecom partner to best serve and work with each service provider's strategic goals, local business model and competitive landscape.

Dhaval Radia, senior vice-president at Greenlight Planet, said, “By expanding to rural consumer segments with value-added services such as PAYG solar products for daily energy and infotainment, telecom operators can help deliver higher value to their customer base.” 

According to Greenlight Planet, recent collaborations between PAYG solar companies and telecom operators have demonstrated that PAYG solar customers are amongst the most active profiles of mobile money users in sub-Saharan Africa, many opening their first mobile money account specifically to purchase a PAYG solar home system.

Ninety-eight percent of Greenlight Planet’s PAYG customers make roughly 60 mobile money payments between US$2 and US$5 each over a period of 12 to twenty-four months to complete their installment payment plans for a PAYG solar device. The company has processed nearly 40 million mobile money payments from customers in Africa in the last three years.

Greenlight Planet has installed nearly six million solar products, benefitting over 24mn  individuals, across the sub-Saharan Africa through its direct distribution channels in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda and through more than 200 strategic alliances in 32 countries across the African continent. The company will showcase its flagship Sun King range of solar-powered products at the upcoming AfricaCom conference from 12th to 15th November 2019 in Cape Town.

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