Energy rental at mobile money agents in rural Africa
Overview
Energy rental at mobile money agent locations in rural Africa
Sector
Location
Energy rental at mobile money agent locations in rural Africa
Millions of mobile money agents (MMAs) now provide essential access to mobile money services throughout Africa. This project is testing the opportunity for MMAs to add another essential “energy rental” service for their customers. This service will allow customers to rent batteries day-by-day from the MMAs to power lighting and other important devices in their homes.
Addressing the income and energy gaps for MMAs and their customers
Many MMAs make very good incomes (particularly in urban areas with high footfall), but many also need to find additional ways of generating income. This is particularly true for MMAs in rural areas, or where they have a limited number or additional business lines that they can offer to customers alongside mobile money.
At the same time, many of the MMAs’ customers lack access to clean and affordable energy and have not yet benefitted from the availability of solar home systems that they can afford. This means that they are left with the alternatives of living in the dark, using expensive and dirty (and dangerous) fossil fuels such as kerosene, or buying disposable batteries that often end up in latrine pits once used.
Connecting batteries and payments to enable customers to take daily rentals from their local MMA
4R Digital with its partners is addressing these challenges by enabling MMAs to add a new line of business that complements their mobile money services. By digitally connecting and controlling batteries, it is possible to create a “battery rental” service for MMAs to offer to their customers. Their customers already visit the MMA frequently, and they can use their mobile money accounts to pay for the batteries as they use them – avoiding any up-front capital costs.
Supported by Frontier Technologies Live-streaming 4R Digital is developing an IoT enabled, digitally-financed clean energy charging station for micro-retailers to generate income offering “smart” household-battery powered home energy solutions to low income customers on a “rental” basis. This involves three main technologies: “Leasable” household batteries manufactured with embedded smart controls to enable monitoring and increase their longevity; Internet of Things (IoT) technology to enable the monitoring and control of the central charging station; and digital finance technology through the use of e-payments to enable efficient transactions.
Generating MMA incomes and ensuring ‘no-one is left behind’ in their need for energy
There is a very considerable market for energy services that have not yet been met by existing solutions. By combining a successful new business offering for MMAs with a valued energy service for their customers, it will be possible to reach tens of thousands of MMAs and their customers with a clean, affordable, and income-generating new service.
