Pay-as-you-go solar provider Greenlight Planet partners telco Orange in Africa

To make solar energy more affordable and accessible, pay-as-you-go provider Greenlight Planet has partnered with Euronext Paris- and NYSE-listed telecom operator Orange on sales of solar-powered energy solutions in several African countries through the latter’s subscriber base and mobile payment platform. Through this partnership, Greenlight Planet will provide equipment and support, expanding Orange’s value proposition in Energy.

The targeted countries include Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone etc.

Greenlight Planet’s solar systems will first become available for Orange’s eight million customers in Burkina Faso from November 2019. Under the partnership, Greenlight Planet’s Sun King range of off-grid energy systems will be made available to the hardest-to-reach regions in the country, especially to the households who live off-the-grid.

As part of its multiservice strategy, Orange has chosen to make energy more readily accessible in African countries within its footprint by providing a range of innovative Orange Energy services. Its “solar kits” offer—first launched for consumers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017—is now available in eight countries across the continent.

Through these offers, Orange Energy customers gain access to the necessary solar equipment to power basic services in their homes. Customers can use their mobiles to pay small, modular subscription fees at a distance using mobile-based money transfer platform Orange Money, making solar energy more widely accessible with the flexibility of mobile payments.

In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 600 million people do not have access to the grid and power cuts are frequent, even in large cities. The partnership between Orange and Greenlight Planet will provide a much-needed service to a population that would otherwise find it difficult to access energy.

“[The partnership with Greenlight Planet] allows us to turn an energy player into a digital energy operator, using our telco operator assets. African populations will thus be able to access energy via simple mobile pre-payment, wherever they are and regardless of their total energy needs. This is our ambition and our contribution to the African energy transition,” said Nat-Sy Missamou, director of Orange Energy.

The Sun King solar systems by Greenlight Planet can light up a whole house, charge the household’s mobile phones, and power a radio or even a television. These consist of a solar panel that is typically installed on the roof of the house or business and connected to a battery and control unit inside the building. Users also benefit from a two-year warranty for the products, which covers the entire installation, maintenance, and repairs, in conjunction with Greenlight Planet.

“This partnership with a leading operator such as Orange proves that our solutions are perfectly adapted to serve the needs of the sub-Saharan African population. Starting in Burkina Faso, we aim to cover the entire country with reliable access to energy and expect our partnership with Orange to expand across other markets in Africa. We believe this collaborative effort will ease and drive Sun King’s penetration into the West African Francophone markets adding to the nearly 50 million lives we have impacted over ten years,” says Patrick Muriuki, Business Development Director for Africa at Greenlight Planet.

Greenlight Planet has sold over 12 million Sun King solar home energy products to off-grid households around the world. It Planet reaches remote, off-grid customers through a unique business model involving a vast network of micro-entrepreneurs, more than 300 global strategic distribution partners, and its proprietary EasyBuy (pay-as-you-go) installment payment technology that makes safe, high-quality solar energy products affordable for all.