INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Mastercard and M-KOPA join
forces to light up homes and
businesses in Africa
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An estimated 16% of the world’s population
– 1.2 billion people – have little or no access
to electricity. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 625
million people lack access to electricity,
relying on bio and fossil fuels such as wood,
charcoal and kerosene.
Solar is an independent way for people to
power homes and businesses but requires a
large, one-time investment. With pay-as-you-
go financing, M-KOPA customers purchase
a solar home system on credit and make
small daily payments using mobile money
for less than what they previously spent on
hazardous, kerosene lamps. Customers will
now be able to make daily payments or
top up the solar accounts easily by either
scanning a Quick Response (QR) code
from their smartphone or by entering the
merchant ID associated with the QR code
into their feature phone.
M
astercard and M-KOPA are to
provide Africans living without
electricity a simple way to light up
their homes and businesses.
M-KOPA, which already provides affordable,
safe and clean energy to three million people
in East Africa, will pilot Mastercard’s Quick
Response (QR) payment technology in
Uganda to extend the reach of its pioneering
pay-as-you-go solar programme.
Meanwhile, Masterpass QR, an open and
interoperable technology, will create a new
payment channel for M-KOPA’s pay-as-you-
go customers outside for Kenya.
The network of mobile network operators and
banks using Masterpass QR will help M-KOPA
www.intelligentcio.com
to scale and grow across Africa without
requiring additional technology investments.
Masterpass QR is currently available in
Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania
and Uganda.
“We may take for granted our ability to
produce light with the simple flick of a switch,
but for many people around the world,
simple things like having electricity can be
life changing,” said Kiki Del Valle, Senior
Vice President, Commerce for Every Device,
Mastercard. “By using our digital payment
capabilities, we want to make it easy for
people to access reliable and regular sources
of energy and become more economically
resilient – earn a livelihood by working from
home, keep shops and businesses open for
longer and study after dark.”
After making successive payments
towards their solar system for roughly a
year, customers build creditworthiness
and can purchase other products, such as
solar-powered televisions, energy-efficient
cook stoves and smartphones on a similar
payment scheme.
“We’ve proven that the pay-as-you-go solar
model works in East Africa, but the off-grid
market in Africa is tremendous,” added
Nick Hughes, co-founder and chief product
officer, M-KOPA Solar.
“Our partnership with Mastercard provides
the roadway for more solar services and
infrastructure across the continent.
“QR technology holds great opportunities
to extend the range of payment channels
for customers and represents a step-change
in our mutual goal to light up homes and
businesses in Africa.” n
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