How it began
In 2010 Jesse Moore, Nick Hughes and banker Chad Larson founded a start-up in Nairobi that became M-KOPA the following year. Hughes had earlier set up and run the M-Pesa mobile money service at Vodafone. Kopa is Swahili for borrow. The company was established in 2011 and launched commercially in 2012, selling through the outlets of the Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom.
Before it existed
Many Kenyans who owned mobile phones still lived off the power grid. According to the mobile industry association GSMA, people in Kenya typically spent 20 percent of their income on kerosene and on charging their phones. Kerosene lamps were the usual source of light, and a solar kit required a large cash payment up front that low-income households could not make.
How it works
The kit includes a solar panel, a control unit, LED light bulbs, a rechargeable radio and a USB port for charging phones. The buyer pays a deposit, about 35 US dollars in 2016, and then makes daily payments of about 43 cents through M-Pesa for a year. The control unit contains GSM technology that lets the company monitor and meter use remotely. Once the balance is paid, the customer owns the system outright.
How it spread
GSMA recorded more than 30,000 users and 750 outlets in Kenya in the early years. By the end of 2015 the company had about 250,000 to 300,000 customers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and was selling about 500 units a day, with sales also beginning in Ghana.
Where it stands today
M-KOPA has since applied the same daily repayment model to smartphones, solar televisions and digital loans. It operates in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa and reports having provided credit to more than 5 million customers. Its headquarters are now in London.
