![]() ![]() In most regions where Off-Grid Electric operates, it is not cost-effective for utilities to serve customers. They tend to upgrade after a few months once they get comfortable with the company’s services and know they’re reliable. Most customers start with the basic service, said Helgesen. For more money, larger systems can provide extra energy for charging more mobile phones and powering appliances and televisions. Unlike kerosene, which offers poor light and spews toxic fumes, the electricity from solar provides better lighting when coupled with LEDs. It comes with LED lights, a radio and a USB charger. The basic service costs about $6 to set up and about $6 per month, less than what most people pay for kerosene. ![]() There are different levels of service available. “This market demands an entrepreneurial solution.” ![]() The model is working, and the startup is installing more than 10,000 systems per month and employs more than 800 people in Tanzania. It uses a mobile-payment platform to allow customers to purchase energy in small amounts, essentially a micro-solar leasing model that the company has dubbed M-Power. As with SolarCity’s leasing model, Off-Grid Electric allows people to pay for the electricity from solar without owning a system outright.īut Off-Grid Electric diverges from SolarCity there. Off-Grid Electric follows SolarCity’s approach but tailors it for the African market. “We can accelerate their learning curve on how to do this right.” “I’ve been able to see how good they are with execution,” Pfund said of watching Off-Grid Electric grow since SolarCity first become acquainted with the company. Nancy Pfund will join Off-Grid Electric as chair of the board. The investment is DBL’s first overseas, but a natural fit given that Nancy Pfund is a longtime investor and board member of another Off-Grid Electric investor, SolarCity. SunEdison has committed to bring power to 20 million people by 2020 through a range of business models and technology offerings deployed by local partners. Other large solar companies are paying attention. The Global Off-Grid Lighting Association estimates today's off-grid solar market at $300 million annually, and 2015 investment figures are likely to be higher than 2014. Last year, nearly $64 million was invested in off-grid solar solutions. Given the falling cost of solar and batteries and the groundwork laid by many nonprofits, the market is strengthening for off-grid distributed renewables in developing countries. We want to provide an electrification solution that’s different and much more cost-effective ,” said Xavier Helgesen, co-founder and CEO of Off-Grid Electric. “Our real intention is to light considerable parts of countries here. The funds will be used to enter its second African market, Rwanda, and to continue to scale up its partnership with the Tanzanian government to power 1 million homes by 2017. The round was led by DBL Partners, which provided the majority of the funding, and also included Western Technology Investment and previous investors SolarCity, Omidyar Network, Serious Change LP, Vulcan Capital and the private investment firm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Off-Grid Electric closed a Series C investment worth $25 million on Wednesday to expand its micro-solar leasing platform in Africa. ![]()
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