NEWS

A new report from business consultancy Kleos Advisory notes that over 600 million people, or one in two, in Africa still lack access to the grid, representing a potential $24 billion market per year for off-grid solar systems.

According to the report, released in time for the UK-Africa Investment Summit taking place in London, some 5 million pay-as-you-go home solar systems have been sold on the continent over the last four years and the market is accelerating, with over 1 million systems sold over the first six months of 2019.

The report notes that households with electricity spend an average of $200 per year on it, and with over 120 million African households still without access to power, this adds up to $24 billion in potential commercial value.

The report, titled ‘The grid won’t connect Africa, but solar can’ states: “Given the ability of solar-fintech solutions to deliver power to African households along with the affordable financing to pay for it, solar could be the breakthrough technology that finally connects Africa’s vast off-grid communities.”

“The combination of solar and fintech is driving an economic transformation in Africa, making the ‘unbankable’ bankable and embedding African consumers in the digital economy.”

Azuri CEO Simon Bransfield-Garth said: “For African countries, energy is a critical need to support rapid economic development. Solar power has the ability to reach the most isolated households and deliver life-changing technology that connects homes to the modern digital economy.”