Mobile offers brighter future for Africa’s rural homes

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

John Kibet’s home in rural Kenya is not linked to the country’s electricity grid.

The only way he could generate power was by using a kerosene-powered generator. This was dirty, smelly and dangerous.

But now things are different.

Mr Kibet, a farmer with 15 acres of commercial land on the outskirts of Kitale, has switched to solar-generated electricity which he pays for using his mobile phone.

“I saw it can save you a lot of money,” he told the BBC. “It’s improved my life, for now I don’t use kerosene anymore – I have my own light. And it’s bright.”

This combination of solar technology and mobile micro-payments is being rolled out across Kenya by a company called M-Kopa Solar.

Source: BBC News (link opens in a new window)

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