The pace at which funding is coming down to the Sub Saharan Africa is quite encouraging for any individuals/incubation/startups/ within the region willing to make a difference in the community . Leading UK based provider of PayGo Solar home systems, Azuri Technologies are the next pace setters as they plan to launch the PayGo Solar project here with raised capital worth US$5 million from Standard Chartered Bank to support renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa.
The system will work just as it sounds PayGo whereby the customer adds credit to their Azuri unit. A sophisticated cloud-based distribution management system not only allows technicians to monitor in real time customer status information but also provides access to training and systems information in real time from a computer or phone.
Importantly, this top-up is priced to cost less than their current weekly spend on kerosene and phone charging, so customers start making savings straight away.
600 million people live without access to a reliable power grid and experience 12 hours of darkness every night,and its Azuri’s mission is to offer freedom through one of the defining characteristics of an electrified household, and one step further towards a connected lifestyle.
Azuri is also empowering the community people and helping them to grow sustainable and self-supporting commercial businesses, creating economic growth at the local level. It has created Over 450 new jobs created in Africa within 12 months
“As the PayGo industry matures, access to innovative debt finance mechanisms becomes an increasingly important part of being able to deliver continued market growth. We are delighted to have partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to deliver this innovative facility,” said Simon Bransfield-Garth, Chief Executive of Azuri.
Azuri entered the Kenyan market in 2011 and has since expanded its reach to serve some 90,000 households across 12 African countries, reaching approximately half a million people.
