12 °c
London
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
No Result
View All Result
FurtherAfrica
  • Countries
    • Angola
    • Botswana
    • Cape Verde
    • DRC
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • Interviews
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • Weekend
  • About
FurtherAfrica
  • Countries
    • Angola
    • Botswana
    • Cape Verde
    • DRC
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • Interviews
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • Weekend
  • About
No Result
View All Result
FurtherAfrica
No Result
View All Result
Home Africa

Tesla is acquiring part of an interesting Tanzania Solar startup

FurtherAfrica by FurtherAfrica
November 17, 2016
in Africa, Development, Economy, Energy, FDI, Finance, Infrastructure, M&A, Manufacturing, Tanzania, Tech
Reading Time: 3 mins read
1.4k 29
1
Share via QRWhatsappShare on FacebookShare on TwitterLinkedInPinteresteMail

Tomorrow, Tesla and SolarCity shareholders will vote on the merger of the two companies. While it’s not exactly a done deal, everything points to the merger going through after major institutional shareholders voiced their supports and CEO Elon Musk disclosed that early votes were “overwhelmingly” in favor.

Tesla’s CEO recently mentioned that the combination of energy storage and solar energy will enable developing nations to leapfrog the fossil fuel era and go directly to renewable energy.

The comment is particularly interesting if you consider that through its acquisition of SolarCity, Tesla is acquiring shares in a company that is trying to attempt exactly what Musk was describing. In his recent documentary ‘Before the Flood’, Leonardo DiCaprio asked Musk how his vision will help developing nations. He answered:

The advantage of solar and batteries is that you can avoid building electricity plants at all. So you can be in a remote village and have solar panels that charge a battery pack that then supply power to the whole village without ever having to run thousands of miles of high-voltage cables all over the place. It’s like what happened with landline phones versus cellular phones. In a lot of developing countries, they just didn’t do the landline phones. They went straight to cellular.

Interestingly, that’s almost the exact mission of Off Grid Electric, a Tanzania-based startup offering solar power and energy storage as a service to rural regions of Africa since 2011.

By acquiring SolarCity, Tesla will become a major shareholder of the company since SolarCity led two early rounds of financing of $16 million and $25 million last year alongside another Tesla investor, DBL Partners. SolarCity’s CEO, Lyndon Rive, is on the board of the startup.

Of course, there’s the problem that Africa is an extremely poor continent and people often can’t afford expensive solar panels and batteries (more than 620 million people in Africa live without access to electricity), but it’s a chicken and egg situation. The population is poor and can’t afford energy – and since it can’t afford energy, it can’t operate businesses and lift itself out of poverty.

off-grid-electric-mPower Tanzania

But Off Grid Electric finds that by offering extremely low-cost systems for low monthly payments, customers tend to find more use for the power and the company can scale the systems to grow with the needs and means of its customers.

Rive commented on the company during the latest round of investment:

Off Grid is expert at offering Africans what they want: clean, affordable electricity that can allow them to grow businesses, improve educational opportunity and enrich their quality of life. Many people in African currently depend on inadequate kerosene lamps for power, and Off Grid knows how to give that market more light at less cost.

Off Grid Electric deploys solar panels (generally small 25-watt modules) to households not connected to the grid, which is very common in rural Africa, and they link it to a 60 watt-hour battery to power lights and small electronics, like cell phones and radios. It replaces kerosene lights which can be a health and safety hazard.

Here’s the typical kit that Off Grid Electric install in a customer’s home
Here’s the typical kit that Off Grid Electric install in a customer’s home

Not unlike SolarCity’s own leasing model or power-purchase agreements, Off Grid Electric owns the systems and sells the energy capacity to its customers. Like Musk said, Africa leapfrogged landlines and went directly to cell phones, which are very popular in Africa, and customers can pay through their phones by texting a code at Off Grid, which is also branded as ‘M-POWER’ (as pictured above) in Africa.

After having raised over $70 million last year through equity and debt rounds, as well as receiving grants, the company is reporting some rapid growth by adding over 10,000 customers per month. Back in June, CEO Xavier Helgesen said that the company is now providing power to over half a million people in Tanzania and Rwanda, and last week, the company announced an expansion in Ivory Coast in partnership with the UK’s EDF Energy.

Considering Musk appears to be on board with the idea, it will be interesting to follow the company after Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity and if there will be any involvement by Tesla.

Article by Fred Lambert, electrek

 

Related

Tags: Elon MuskOff Grid Electricsolar powerSolarCityTanzaniaTeslaTomorrowタンザニア坦桑尼亚
ScanSendShare578Tweet361Share101Pin130Send
FurtherAfrica

FurtherAfrica

Founded in 2015 FurtherAfrica is an online platform centralising news and content focusing on the development and growth story of the African continent.

Related Posts

Kariba Dam rehabilitation commences
Government

Angola promotes approach to public policy evaluation system

by FurtherAfrica
August 17, 2022
Economy

Mozambique economy grew 4.37% in H1

by Club of Mozambique
August 17, 2022
Economic Diplomacy and Diaspora as a driver for growth and internationalisation
Interview

Economic Diplomacy and Diaspora as a driver for growth and internationalisation

by Elizabeth Khumalo
August 17, 2022
AfCFTA to help Africa rebuild after virus, even if delayed
Trade

How easy is it to do cross border trade in Africa?

by The Exchange
August 17, 2022
Economy

Mozambique economic stimulus measures renew businesses confidence

by Club of Mozambique
August 17, 2022
Angola Oil & Gas 2022
 
AFSIC 2022
 
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park
 
MozParks

Translate this page

Read the Latest

Kariba Dam rehabilitation commences
Government

Angola promotes approach to public policy evaluation system

by FurtherAfrica
August 17, 2022
0

The Public Policy Assessment system, with the aim of developing skills for analytical exploration and other procedural methods, was one...

Read more

Mozambique economy grew 4.37% in H1

August 17, 2022
Economic Diplomacy and Diaspora as a driver for growth and internationalisation

Economic Diplomacy and Diaspora as a driver for growth and internationalisation

August 17, 2022
AfCFTA to help Africa rebuild after virus, even if delayed

How easy is it to do cross border trade in Africa?

August 17, 2022

Mozambique economic stimulus measures renew businesses confidence

August 17, 2022

FurtherAfrica Partners Network

The Exchange Club of Mozambique Taarifa Rwanda
TechGist Africa Africa Oil & Power Farmers Review Africa
Tanzania Invest Zambia Invest See Africa Today
Africa Global Funds Novafrica CrudeMix Africa
Harambee Africa Botswana unplugged Financial Insights Zambia
Digilogic Africa Web3Africa

Subscribe to FurtherAfrica

Enter your email address to receive new articles on your email.

Join 100,544 other subscribers.

FurtherAfrica

© 2021 FurtherMarkets

FurtherAfrica is a FurtherMarkets Limited platform

  • Countries
  • Interviews
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • Weekend
  • About

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Countries
    • Angola
    • Botswana
    • Cape Verde
    • DRC
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • Interviews
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • Weekend
  • About

© 2021 FurtherMarkets

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
 

Loading Comments...