BBOXX, a next generation utility, and DC Go, a provider of affordable off-grid electrification, today announce their intention to partner to provide energy services in southern Africa.
The proposed partnership will see BBOXX combine its technological expertise with DC Go’s unrivalled knowledge of the off-grid energy market in Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland.
Both companies believe that there is a significant opportunity to serve the estimated 4.6 million people without access to reliable electricity in the three countries.
BBOXX and DC Go plan to apply their model to both rural and urban environments in the region, particularly informal settlements. In these ‘townships’ many people resort to dangerous illegal connections to the established grid to power their homes. BBOXX and DC Go believe solar powered micro-grid technology will be a safe and sustainable solution for these communities.
The partnership will see BBOXX provide its solar home systems and technology platform Pulse to DC Go, which will distribute and sell products via a PAYGO model to customers in the region. Pulse is a cloud-based platform, which enables distributed energy services companies such as DC Go to improve efficiency and enhance customer service. Pulse overcomes many of the big obstacles that distributed energy companies experience in Africa, including managing customers, products and employees that are spread out across remote locations.
Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of BBOXX, said: “Southern Africa is home to many millions of people without access to reliable electricity. This is a serious challenge and will require a concerted effort to overcome.
“We are excited to be exploring ways that we can work with DC Go to tackle energy poverty in this region of Africa.
“Our vision is to harness the power of pioneering data and technology to generate sustainable economic development by providing the on-grid experience to communities that are in an off-grid setting.”
Greg Midlane, Managing Director and co-founder of DC Go, added: “The Government of South Africa has acknowledged the role that off-grid systems can play in achieving its target of ensuring that all formal households have access to electricity by 2025.
“This recognition of the value of micro-grid and solar home systems is hugely encouraging and reinforces our view that this is the most viable solution for underserviced households in both rural and urban areas.
“We look forward to discussing how we can best deploy our deep market knowledge with BBOXX’s expertise to create a formal partnership.”
About BBOXX
BBOXX is a venture backed next generation utility, developing solutions to provide affordable, clean energy to off-grid communities in the developing world.
BBOXX is fully vertically integrated, controlling every part of its customer experience. Its market leading products and appliances coupled with our SMART Solar platform bring machine-learning and customer experience optimisation to rural Africa. Ground-breaking financing structure has brought off-grid solar into the world’s financial markets.
With over 150,000 systems deployed so far; 500 staff across 6 offices in China, UK and countries in Africa including Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo, working with BBOXX to bring electricity to 20 million people by 2020.
You can find further information about BBOXX on its website at – http://www.bboxx.co.uk/
About DC Go:
DC Go provides affordable, off-grid electrification to underserviced communities. Offering energy as a service, systems are implemented in communities through local employment and local vendors, empowering people and creating economic and environmental sustainability. A range of pay-as you-go packages make the power solutions both accessible and affordable irrespective of household income.
For more information contact: info@dcgo.today
BBOXX Media Enquiries
Please contact:
Amy Boekstein, Instinctif Partners, bboxx@instinctif.com / +44 (0)207 457 2064
Rolf Merchant, Instinctif Partners, bboxx@instinctif.com / +44 (0)207 457 2049
Source: http://www.bboxx.co.uk/bboxx-dc-go-set-sights-southern-africa-new-partnership/