M-KOPA has recently launched its first ever solar-powered digital flat screen TV – available on several and ridiculously affordable M-PESA payment plans. This will ensure that millions of Kenyans countrywide enjoy the amusement brought by TV ownership.
Jesse Moore, CEO at M-KOPA says, “Owning a TV is life-changing for our off-grid customers. Many of them have traditionally had to pay to watch in a café or bar, or missed out on news and current events because they could not afford to be connected to information. We are now going beyond the grid to offer TV to homes all over Kenya. It’s great for the family to be able to watch together in the comfort and safety of their home.”
This offer is available in two ways; as an “M-KOPA + TV” upgrade pack for existing M-KOPA customers and as a larger “M-KOPA 400” 20W home solar system with TV for new customers.
New customers can purchase the M-KOPA 400, a new 20W solar home system, also available in selected service centers. It includes a 20W PV panel, a 16” digital TV, two lights, a torch, a phone charger, and a radio. This is available after a deposit coupled with one year of daily payments of only KES 125!
Existing M-KOPA customers who have finished paying off their M-KOPA payment plans will be able to prolong their KES 50 per day payment plan for two more years, so as upgrade to the “M-KOPA + TV” system. Customers with good credit standing with M-KOPA will receive a phone call or SMS to advise them when they become eligible to upgrade. After completion of their payment, the customers will own the television and solar power system and can enjoy viewing without any further bills to incur. “It’s great to be able to turn on a light, charge my phone and listen in on my favorite radio show. But I always wanted to own a TV set, watch the latest news and have my wife catch her soap operas. We are thrilled that MKOPA is offering a product that we have been longing to own,” says Lucas Ochieng, an M-KOPA customer from Kisumu.
With the partnership between M-KOPA and Safaricom, solar home systems, with TV, will be available in Safaricom retail outlets from mid-2016, and hopefully in the homes of millions by the end of 2017. Bob Collymore, the CEO of Safaricom, says, “M-PESA and Safaricom are helping make digital TV affordable and accessible for the first time for millions of people. I think M-KOPA’s innovation signals a fundamental change for TV audiences in Kenya. We creating the genesis of a new economy based on clean energy that promises to include groups who have been previously marginalized.” So the question on your mind might dwell on whether this solar powered technology can withstand rainy days? Not to worry, Bob Collymore also claimed that the panels are built to work efficiently, even during the dullest of days.