About

Across Africa’s emerging markets, households and businesses are in search of renewable energy solutions that fit their needs. More than 500 million people still do not have any form of electricity access, and even among those on the grid, one out of every five people struggle with an unreliable power supply. Modernising energy provision calls for renewable energy technologies of all sizes and more importantly, bringing these technologies directly to the millions who need them, with an assurance of affordable quality.

MPower is one of the climate fintech start-ups that are answering this call by harnessing the power of the sun. Since 2018, the company has been working to achieve reliable solar energy access in Cameroon, Ghana, Namibia, Togo and Zambia by delivering a wide range of small and medium-scale solar energy infrastructure. These fall along four verticals, namely: Commercial & Industrial (C&I) and solar back-up systems; productive use systems and appliances; SHSs and appliances, and finally, solar projects for institutions and NGOs. Combined, these verticals serve lower and middle-income households and small businesses in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas.

MPower stands apart from competitors by utilising an innovative “business-to-business-to-consumer” (B2B2C) model. While the company sources solar products directly from manufacturers and ensures their quality, local management teams work directly with distribution partners and installers in target markets, who in turn oversee last-mile distribution to consumers. Under the B2B2C arrangement, MPower handles import–export arrangements while strengthening the capacity of local distributors through supply chain management, warehousing, software automation, and financing logistics support.

The company has also formed relationships with corporate clients with whom they can offer payroll-backed loans to their employees. As a result, diverse consumers in various markets are accessing affordable solar energy solutions, at scale, delivered efficiently through the power of existing distribution networks. This model uniquely positions MPower to extend the reach of solar products to immense numbers of off and on-grid consumers who currently face reliability issues.

Our support 

Following its launch five years ago, MPower faced headwinds during its initial years of operations as it worked to establish a financially secure foothold in some of sub-Saharan Africa’s least-served energy markets. As the company was looking to strengthen its financial footing, the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFI) referred them for advisory support to the GET.invest Finance Catalyst.

Beginning in 2021, the GET.invest Finance Catalyst reviewed MPower’s investment materials, provided strategic guidance and offered fundraising support, allowing the company to significantly strengthen the quality of its investment materials, improve its financial model, and more effectively access finance to sustain its early growth and fuel its expansion plans throughout the region. Thanks to these improvements, MPower’s two primary sales channels – moving solar inventory through local distribution networks and corporate employers – are enabling the company to maximise cash sales revenues, minimise receivables and maintain a short cash-conversion cycle.

Currently, the GET.invest Finance catalyst is engaged in a new Series A equity fundraise (approx. USD 2M), and a complementary debt finance (approx. USD 2M). In parallel, the advisors are now building a new financial model for the company’s equity raise.

The outcome

Having secured new financing opportunities, with some progressing to financial closes, the company anticipates a total projected investment volume exceeding €9 million. MPower is celebrating several recent successes, including a €2 million trade debt finance facility with Inoks Capital and a USD 2 million working capital loan from a trade and development financial institution ; securing equity from an existing shareholder and new leading angel investors; accessing equity crowdfunding with SEEDRS; and scoring a variety of results-based financing grants. Looking forward, a newly established pipeline of more than 20 business-to-business partners and projects carries the potential to reach more than 3.5 million additional end users, suggesting the possibility of rapid revenue growth for the company.

MPower’s impact on the ground is increasingly tangible as well. At the end of 2023, the company’s renewable energy products produced more than 1.2 GwH since the inception of its operations. The company’s network has provided clean power to more than 100,000 people and delivered consumer finance solutions to over 4,000 end users.

With further fundraising support from new clean energy and impact investors – and other existing supporters – MPower is confident its efforts to supercharge Africa’s clean energy transition are only just beginning, laying the foundation for improved electricity access, strengthened energy security and greater climate resilience.

Disclaimer: This story was last updated in February 2024.