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M-Kopa solar kit. In October last year, M-Kopa secured $80 million to finance solar energy in at least one million homes in Kenya and Uganda by 2020. FILE PHOTO | NATION
Kenya's M-Kopa hopes to install at least 500,000 locally-made solar panels over the next two years, after it signed a supply deal with Solinc, manufacturer of solar electricity products.
M-Kopa which previously imported its smaller 8W panels begin will now source all its photovoltaic panels in Kenya as it looks to grow its off-grid capacity from the current 1.85MW to about 6.6MW, by 2020.
M-Kopa chairman Mugo Kibati, says the firm has already installed 100,000 locally-sourced panels and that contract was part of efforts to boost local manufacturing and increase access to cleaner, renewable energy.
In October last year, M-Kopa, which has already connected over 500,000 homes to solar power across the region, secured $80 million to finance solar energy in at least one million homes in Kenya and Uganda by 2020.
Rent-to-own model
The expansion plans by the pay-as-you-go firm reflect the increased interest in the solar kits market in East Africa that has recently attracted multinationals like Indian firm Orb Energy and Germany-based Mobisol.
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Mobisol which has operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda has already installed 10 MW of solar energy and connected more than 500,000 people in East Africa through its rent-to-own solar systems distribution model.
Husk Power Systems which operates in Tanzania and India has announced a $20 million investment to install over 300 mini-grids in the two countries over the next four years.
A week ago, the Opec Fund for International Development approved a $1 million grant for the Energy 4 Impact project to develop the small-scale solar irrigation market in Rwanda, to support 13,000 farmers over five years.
In 2017, the World Bank advanced $150 million to the Kenyan government for the off-grid Solar Access Project that is expected to serve an estimated 277,000 households across 14 counties.
Kenya-made solar panels boost firm’s EA presence