Chinese solar firms eye chances to fill African infrastructure

As the continent continues to battle with intermittent power shortages, several Chinese solar enterprises, who are leaders in the worldwide photovoltaic (PV) sector, are eyeing Africa’s “blue ocean” market.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 600 million people do not have access to electricity. Some companies have decided to offer household solar power solutions utilizing a PayGo model, which is a flexible billing and payment method that makes solar electricity more accessible to a larger variety of users.

In a recent interview with Future Hub Africa, He Ping, co-founder and deputy manager of Shenzhen-based Beebeejump, revealed that the company has established a team of over 200 sales and management workers in Nigeria, selling off-grid solar products across 36 states in the country using the PayGo method.

Only 40% of Nigerians can connect to the state grid, despite the country having Africa’s greatest population; even for those families that can utilize power, grid service is frequently inconsistent, he claimed.