Off-Grid Solar Expands Throughout Sunny Africa

Providing electricity to more rural, off-grid communities in Africa could be a phone call away—literally.

Off-grid companies are entering the energy market in East Africa, bringing new business models that target areas covered by mobile phone networks but not electricity grids, according to Jesse Moore, chief executive officer and co-founder of solar energy company M-Kopa Solar in Kenya.

“We utilize mobile phone networks to provide energy services through pay-as-you-go financing and payment, in a scheme where consumers can use their phones, using mobile money to pay for an off-grid device, such as a solar home system in installments,” ...