A UK-based company that specialises in solar battery rentals, MOPO, has entered into a strategic partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
Under the partnership, IFC will provide strategic advisory support to help the company expand operations in Nigeria and also enter new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The statement does not mention any direct financing.
MOPO has completed more than 32 million battery rentals in six countries, including Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The company has also attracted several international investors. Last September, it secured around $6.7 million from Norfund to expand its model, after raising $7 million from British International Investment to strengthen its operations in the DRC. The partnership aims to strengthen an existing model. MOPO operates a pay-as-you-go battery rental system.
The batteries, which can cover a household’s basic needs or replace some diesel generators, are charged in solar hubs run by local agents and then rented to households and small businesses.
“IFC’s partnership with MOPO highlights our commitment to accelerating private sector-led innovation in support of the World Bank Group’s Mission 300 initiative, which seeks to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030. Through collaborative efforts like these, we are not only expanding access to energy but also fostering job creation and local economic growth,” said IFC’s Regional director for Industry, Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Africa, Sarvesh Suri.
Strengthening the company’s model, supported by international partners, could help expand access to clean energy in off-grid areas of the continent and address, at a small scale, the region’s electricity access deficit.
