The problem
Only 33 per cent of Tanzanians have access to energy. Particularly low energy access in rural areas (17 per cent) is a severe constraint on average household consumption and productivity.
The company
Devergy is a Tanzania-based energy services company that provides affordable and reliable energy to low-income households in rural villages through smart mini-grids that allow customers to prepay using mobile money.
Project description
In May 2015, Devergy received a grant from the GSMA Digital Utilities Innovation Fund to expand its smart mini-grids in Tanzania’s Mbeya region.
Impact
Devergy customers, 60 per cent of which live below the poverty line, reported spending 20 per cent less on lighting and phone charging after becoming Devergy customers. Seventeen per cent did not have a mobile money account prior to the Devergy service offering and opened one in order to use it. 64 per cent of users reported using mobile money more since becoming Devergy customers. In March 2017, Tigo Tanzania launched Tigo Bonus, an extra airtime, data and SMS offering unique to Devergy customers to drive higher average purchase amounts by customers using their own Tigo Pesa wallet.
Donor(s)
Partnerships
