M-Kopa: mass-scale solar power
What if you could reduce CO 2 emissions massively while
providing a more affordable power supply to hundreds of
thousands of people? This is what M-Kopa has done. As of
January 2018, this Kenyan start-up, launched in 2012, had
connected more than 600,000 homes in East Africa to solar
power sources.
M-Kopa estimates that it saves its customers around $750 in
the first four years of use – an immense benefit for the 80% of
its users who live on less than $2 a day. In addition, they no
longer have to use dirty kerosene fuel. As of January 2018,
M-Kopa had saved customers $450 million, while providing
75 million hours of “fume-free light” per month, with a
reduction in CO 2 emissions of 780,000 tons. By any standard,
this is an impact.