d.light to support Kenya's electrification strategy

d.light, a provider of transformational household products and affordable finance, has been selected to take part in the Kenyan Government’s initiative to expand the uptake of off-grid solar home systems and clean cookstoves in underserved counties

The Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP) is a flagship project of the Ministry of Energy, financed by the World Bank, that aims to provide electricity and clean cooking solutions in the remote, low-density underserved areas of the country. It is part of the Government’s goal of providing universal electricity in Kenya, helping to pave the way for the realisation of Kenya Vision 2030.

According to World Bank 2022 data, 24% of Kenyans still lack access to electricity and more than 34% of the country’s rural population without access. Moreover, only 30% of the population have access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, with the remainder at risk from using harmful fuels such as unprocessed biomass, charcoal, coal and kerosene.

d.light’s managing director for Kenya, Karanja Njoroge, remarked, “Kenya has achieved sustained economic growth and social development in the last decade or so, and its economy is the largest and most developed in eastern and central Africa. However, many of its citizens still live without access to electricity, especially in rural areas outside the major towns and cities. These areas are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including droughts and desertification.”

Supporting rural Kenya

THE KOSAP programme, launched in 2018, is targeted at rectifying these deficiencies and consists of four components with a total budget of US$150mn (provided as a grant from the World Bank). The four components are focused on mini grids for community facilities, businesses and households; standalone solar home systems and clean cooking solutions for households; standalone systems solar home systems and clean cooking solutions for households; standalone systems and solar water pumps for community facilities; and capacity building for development, planning and regulation of power and renewable energy at a county government level.

d.light has been selected to participate in the second component which has been allocated US$15.7mn. d.light will provide solar power and clean cooking solutions to more than 150,000 people, with its solar products sold on an instalment plan via the company’s ‘PayGo’ service.

“Kenya was one of the first African countries in which d.light launched operations back in 2008, and our headquarters for Africa is in Nairobi,” continued Njoroge. “With our combination of tried-and-tested, market-leading products, established distribution channels, and our secure ‘PayGo’ payment system, d.light is ideally placed to participate in this latest drive to extend clean, safe, renewable energy to the people and communities in rural Kenya who need it. Thanks to the KOSAP initiative, a better quality of life is within reach for many Kenyans.”

In July, d.light announced that it had closed a securitisation facility to scale up its PayGo consumer finance in select African countries. Click here to discover the full story.