HelloSolar, BelCash to introduce solar home system
Launches international remittance system for diaspora
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With Ethiopia moving to a strategy which helps embrace the wisdom of solar energy within the country and play catch-up to successes achieved in neighboring nations such as Kenya and Rwanda; HelloSolar in partnership with BelCash – the mobile banking platform system – is set to introduce a pay-as-you-go system for the nation’s off-grid population with affordable solar home system.
This is a jump-the-queue strategy for the company in offering such a system and becoming a pioneer in a country whose majority of population still lack basic energy. In addition, the company has launched an International Remittance payment system, to allow members of the Diaspora to pay from anywhere in the world with a credit card and convenience local clients.
For almost six months, HelloSolar has been testing a PAYGO system, bringing brand-name partners to the table such as: BelCash, Shell Foundation, DFID and USAID and Power Africa (President Barack Obama’s initiative to use renewable energy to provide basic energy across the continent).
“After the pilot project, HelloSolar will adapt and roll out its model nationwide and be at a prime position to achieve the Ethiopian government’s target of providing 3.5 million solar home systems by 2025,” Bart Minsaer, General Manager of HelloSolar, said.
The Ethiopian government has set 2025 as its target to meet its goal of becoming a middle-income country and the manufacturing hub of the region.
“Our mission goes beyond proving affordable access to energy,” Michael Tesfaye Hiruy, the companies Chief Strategy Officer told The Reporter. “Moving forward, we will forge the necessary partnerships to provide access to connectivity and digital services such as healthcare, education, market access and employment”.
BelCash is a company known to have introduced an advanced use of technology to provide customized solutions in convenient payments to vital government services in 2010. It has since refurbished what was once a bureaucratic paper system which inconvenienced millions of people who depend on it.
