Page 11 - AfrElec Week 43 2020

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most clear in our bouts of load shedding,” she access barrier for end users. distributors of solar-powered devices collect
said, using a local term for power outages. In the past, the sheer cost of purchasing and manage payments as well as customer
South Africa produces the same quantity full range solar energy units typically put data from users. The company also provides
of greenhouse gases as the U.K., which has them out the reach of millions across the metering and monitoring technology that
an economy eight times larger. Eskom, which continent—including some of those who need manufacturers of solar-powered products
runs a fleet of coal-fired power plants, is the them the most. can embed in their devices and remotely
country’s worst polluter, accounting for about But the falling prices of solar panels power them based on customers’ payments
40% of the greenhouse-gas emissions. combined with scalable payments software status and, when necessary, collect usage and
Cape Town plans to build a photovoltaic and device metering technology now mean diagnostics data.
solar power plant by the end of the 2023 solar-powered devices can be made affordable While some manufacturers make devices
financial year, as well as sourcing additional both for initial purchase and follow-on micro and also build customised software and
sustainable energy, Nassiep said. The city payments linked to usage in pay-as-you-go technology in-house to power them, it is a
took the energy ministry to court this year offerings. time and cost-intensive process which several
to win the right to source its own power. The With a significant amount of users in others are unable to do. “This was a big gap
judge ruled that further negotiations with the low-income households, solutions that make in the market that we identified,” says Lesley
government should take place. these devices more affordable has been Marincola, CEO of Angaza. “Distributors
“We intend putting out a tender for pivotal, according to development analysts really need to digitize their operations and
renewable-energy plants embedded in our and come with a lot of upside. It’s a view that’s automate a lot of work-flows, be able to
grid in the next year and we would like increasingly shared by renewable energy make mobile money payments and track
to source renewable energy from large investors as well, as is evident from the latest those automatically—and there just wasn’t a
independent power producers as soon as is investment in Angaza—a software provider complete software solution to do all of that,”
feasible,” he said. that enables solar power device makers and she tells Quartz Africa.
distributors offer pay-as-you-go consumer
services.
The eight-year old startup has raised
PAY-AS-YOU- GO $13.5 million in a Series B funding round SOL AR
led by KawiSafi Ventures, an East Africa-
Software provider for based energy impact fund, with participation Siemens delivers first
from Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, the
Africa’s pay-as-you-go investment arm of French energy giant, Total. blades for West Bakr wind
Existing investors including Ajax Strategies,
solar industry raises Emerson Collective, Rethink Impact, and project in Egypt
Salesforce Ventures also participated in the
$13.5mn round. It follows a $10.5 million Series A Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa
round in 2017 for the San Francisco-based
Renewable Energy SA (BME:SGRE) has
As small-scale renewable energy solutions Angaza, whose technology is deployed in 33 delivered the first blades to the site of the 250-
have become mainstream across African African countries so far. MW West Bakr wind project in Egypt, it said
households over the past decade, one of the Angaza’s mobile app serves as a point on Twitter.
key drivers has been easing the financial of sales tool that allows sales agents of The company will be bringing 96 units

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