Barclays Ponies Up £1 Million Loan For Pay-As-You-Go Solar Systems For Sub-Saharan Homes

A £1 million working capital loan from Barclays is providing the funding for British solar technology company Azuri to bring another 30,000 pay-as-you-go solar systems to homes in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Azuri IndiGo “brings power at scale to off-grid customers in rural emerging markets, providing basic needs that are regarded as routine in more developed countries,” according to the web site.

For many homes in sub-Saharan Africa, lack of electricity means that lighting often comes from kerosene, which emits fumes and is expensive and dangerous. With IndiGo, users can have about eight hours of light per night and charge their mobile phones via solar power.

The pay-as-you-go scheme allows customers to pay with pre-paid weekly scratch-cards. Azuri claims that IndiGo can reduce users’ spending on kerosene and phone charging services by as much as 50 percent.

Other cool solar projects in sub-Saharan Africa include this irrigation system and this solar water purifier.

Source: Business Green