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Solar-Powered Televisions Brighten Homes in Rural Kenya
MACHAKOS, KENYA?
Violet Mwikali's new television has not just brought entertainment to her home. It has ushered in peace, too.

" what to watch on showtime whining has stopped now. I was placed on the spot for a while as my two children went to the neighbours' to watch television," Mwikali said as she adjusted her new 16-inch solar-powered television.

Mwikali is one of many residents of Lukenya in Machakos County, east of Nairobi, who've bought televisions from M-KOPA Solar, a Nairobi-based company that sells solar-powered products in places not linked to the national energy grid.

The digital flat-screen television, put into the product line in February, comes with a solar panel and a portable battery that also controls a lighting unit and has a socket for charging mobile phones.

Margaret Nduge, another solar TV owner, said she had long resigned herself never to being hooked up to the national electricity grid. Before buying the solar kit, Nduge used a generator for power, but it was smoky and noisy, and the expense of fuel was a drain on her behalf finances.

"My neighbors didn't think that I could afford to power the house silently," she said.

The solar television works even though there is little if any sun, she said, allowing her to maintain with her favorite gospel channels and the national news. The battery lasts for four hours when useful for lighting and watching television simultaneously.

Television reaches less than a third of Kenya's adult population every day, with the rest lacking power or perhaps a TV set, according to 2015 data from the Kenya Audience Research Foundation cited by M-KOPA.

Leapfrogging the grid

The complete M-KOPA kit, like the television set, costs about $530, and customers make a short payment of up to $79, accompanied by installments of less than $1 a day.

Kit owner Raphael Makau said the $148 minimum fee levied upfront by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to connect a home to the national grid was too expensive. It would took him years to cover access to electricity were it not for the solar kit, he said.

Makau also likes the capability of making his daily payment to M-KOPA through his cellular phone.

Jesse Moore, M-KOPA's leader, believes poorer nations will lead just how in switching to green energy use.

"In Africa, (we have been going) directly from limited energy connections straight to renewable," he said.

According to Moore, the business has sold over 6,000 tv's, and plans to scale up production to meet rising demand.

The company hopes to reach 3 million households out of the 5 million yet to be connected to the grid in Kenya, Moore told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Target areas are mainly rural because many residents t here are poor and need affordable energy products. Allowing payments via mobile money transfer helps attract customers, Moore added.

Better batteries

Individuals are already identifying improvements they would like to see within the next generation of solar products. Mwikali wants enhanced battery life to expand the amount of time she may use her TV, as the current four hours is not enough for her family's needs.

Makau echoed the suggestion, saying he could be sometimes forced to use backups such as for example kerosene lanterns when the solar battery runs out in the evenings.

Additional info -KOPA is wanting to boost the quality of the solar television sets and enhance their features, Moore said. But he warned the price may not come down as the cost has already been low considering the capabilities of the complete system.

The company is currently working out how to proceed with the solar batteries when their five-year lifespan ends, and contains engaged another business to recycle the batteries to help conserve the surroundings, Moore said.

M-KOPA is hoping to expand access to its solar televisions to Tanzania and Uganda, also to start manufacturing all of the components in Kenya. More solar products for the poor are also in the offing, Moore said, declining to elaborate.





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