Off-Grid Home Solar Provider Fenix International Has Signed 60,000 Leases In Uganda To Date

8 years ago James Ayre
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The leading off-grid home solar energy system provider in Uganda, Fenix International, has now signed 60,000 leases for its ReadyPay Power offering (since January 2014), according to a new press release.

Altogether, the leases relate to $11 million in business — and there’s now been an estimated 300,000 Ugandans that have been provided reliable electricity for the first time through these.

“Our success to date demonstrates the incredible demand for ReadyPay and the robustness of our financing platform,” stated Lyndsay Handler, CEO of Fenix International. “First, we are bringing clean, affordable power to replace expensive and dangerous kerosene lanterns. Second, customers build a credit history that allows us to provide additional financing for solar system upgrades and other life-changing products and services.”

The press release provides seem background on the company: “Ugandans, living on an average of less than $2/day, make only a small deposit to take home their approximately $200 solar system. Customers then pay off the remaining cost in affordable installments via Mobile Money over 18-24 months until they own the system outright. Fenix’s innovative hardware and software enable the company to lock the solar system if customers fail to make payments. The company receives and processes over 120,000 payments per month, and a total of $5 .7 million has been paid back through 1.4 million payments.”

The company is in a partnership with the leading African telecom company, MTN, that sees MTN provide aid in the distribution and sales of the company’s ReadyPay Power systems. Foreign investors also assist the company in the financing of its lease products.

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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

James Ayre has 4830 posts and counting. See all posts by James Ayre

2 thoughts on “Off-Grid Home Solar Provider Fenix International Has Signed 60,000 Leases In Uganda To Date”

  • JamesWimberley
    April 30, 2016 at 4:37 pm
    Permalink

    The customers are locked in to the mobile telco that runs the payments system. Each telco has its own, and they are usually not interoperable, as with conventional bank accounts. This monopoly is a recipe for overcharging.

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