Mobile Enabled Offgrid Electrification

Roland Sprenger
Project Management
Mobisol GmbH
roland.sprenger@plugintheworld.com
www.plugintheworld.com
Africa at night – an untapped market

1,6 billion people live off the grid, still an

untapped market!

Solar PV is a solution, but has not yet scaled

due to:

2 MAIN BOTTLENECKS:

• High upfront investment for customer

• Difficult maintenance & control of units
 The next African revolutions: peaceful ones that Mobisol
will leverage

80 8
% USD
1600% increase
70 7

60 6

90% decline
50 5
Average Mobile phones per adult in
SSA in %
40 4

SSA Rural Electrifcation Rate in %

30 3

Price for PV in USD/Watt

20 2

10 1

0 0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2
 Mobile + Solar = Off-grid electrification

80 8
% USD

70 7 Merging two
60 6 revolutions
50 5
Average Mobile phones per adult
in SSA in %
40 4

SSA Rural Electrifcation Rate in %

30 3

Price for PV in USD/Watt

20 2

10 1

0 0
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Mobisol all-in-one service: installation, usage,
maintenance & after sales customer service

How it works:
• Solar Home System is easily
installed, trained local
technicians available for help

• Mobisol controller tracks usage

remotely

• User pays monthly via phone

• 36mo. credit period with 30 days

of flexible grace period per year

• System shuts off in case of

payment default; impossible to
disable without breaking

• Free maintenance for first 3yrs

 Major investments in powerful IT monitoring back-end:
streamlined customer service

MAJOR INVESTMENT
Virtual tracking & credit managementIN POWERFUL IT BACK-END TO
ENABLE
• ProprietarySCALE
database receives real-time
usage data for all systems
• Tracks mobile payments, usage of grace
period, prevent fraud, automatic SMS
reminders

Data collection

• Database aggregates system statistics, e.g.

time of usage, appliances used, payment
trends
• Data is unique and powerful for sales and
credit processes: better target customers
based on known preferences, and maintain
longer-term relationship
• Statistics collected enable Mobisol to track
and measure economic, social and
environmental impact
Robust, innovative and mature products

6
4 Mobisol products cover consumer needs

Customers can upgrade easily over time

Product range 30W 80W 120W 200W

Appliances • Light • Light • Light • Light
• Phone • Phone charger • Phone charger • Phone charger
charger • Radio • Radio • Radio
• Radio • TV & DVD • TV & DVD • TV & DVD
• Stereo • Stereo
• Laptop & fridge
Down- $27 $45 $57 $86
payment
Monthly cost $10 $22 $34 $47
(over 36 mo.)
Warranty ---------- 20 years on panel, 3 years on battery and lighting ----------

Included • Real-time performance monitoring

Services • Free maintenance & repair visits when necessary
• Phone number for complaints
Mobisol‘s unique value proposition: prepaid AND
powerful AND remotely monitored
Unlike Kerosene or other solar products, Mobisol is:

Affordable (prepaid) Saving money and Monitored and

creating income maintained remotely
• African households pay
~$360/year for energy • Mobisol is more than • Mobisol products can be
just a substitute for monitored and
• Africans spend >$10 kerosene or a generator maintained remotely
billion on kerosene
alone for lighting each • For less money • System tracks SHS in
year (incremental savings), real time and collects
Mobisol can power detailed user data
• Mobisol saves ~80% many different
on energy, creating up appliances: multiple • Mobile payments are
to 30% more income lights, mobile charging, also recorded
radio, TVs, fridges, etc.
• 36mo. payment plan • In case of default on the
makes Mobisol prepaid • Customers can loan, the system can be
product highly generate incremental remotely switched off,
affordable even for the income (e.g. mobile creating a high incentive
low-income population charging business to pay

Sources: Mobisol survey of >100 customers; IFC/WRI (2007) The Next 4 Billion
Impact Millions of Low-Income Lives
Units sales create direct impact…
• Expect to sell units to >223,000 low-
income households (~1.34M ppl) by
2019
• Study indicates each household
realizes $126 net benefit per year
owning a Mobisol unit
• Mobisol business in a box’ generates
$311/yr. income per household
• Over next 6 years, Mobisol will reach
>223,000 households, creating >$129M
cumulative income benefit
…But many forms of indirect impact
• Over next 6 yrs., Mobisol will install 29
MW of capacity, saving over 0.22M tons
of CO2 emissions
• Over 223,000 households will lead
healthier lives, avoiding kerosene
accidents/fumes
• Mobisol will enable thousands of
businesses and allow 100,000s of
children to study past dark
Only Mobisol offers prepaid, powerful, remotely
monitored SHS
Affordability Versatility Livelihood

High – lowest High – powers High – safe,

payment at $10/mo. range of products easy to use,
Mobisol with $27 upfront. from lights to TVs opportunities to
Revenue generation and fridges generate new income
covers monthly through business
payment

High – individual Low – individual Medium – safe,

Pico Products lanterns as low at $10 products do not easy to use, no
(Lights, small per unit solve family need, income opportunities
fixtures)
are not modular

Low – units often High – powers High – safe,

Traditional >$500, with no credit range of products easy to use,
solar home period, makes option from lights to opportunities to
systems unaffordable to most laptops generate new income
through business
Products are robust, mature, plug & play, and easy to
service
Product design minimizes need for repair
• Manufacturer solar panel warranty is 20 years
• System designed for easy replacement of controllers – done by local fundis (technicians)
• 3 year warranty on batteries, Mobisol unit technology prevents rapid decline
• Additional warranty possible after 3 years
• Electronics inside unit are manufactured to Mobisol specification near Berlin, Germany
before shipping to Shenzhen, China for assembly

Components are high quality and robust

• Battery has been used worldwide and throughout Africa
• Unit design enhances battery life time with controlled charge cycles
• PV cell technology in solar panels made by Q-CELLS, a reputable German company

Key components are easily repairable with help from database

• Database automatically informs Mobisol Hub when unit is malfunctioning
• Shows what component of unit is causing disruption
• All components can be fixed or exchanged quickly, with a recyclable screwdriver as only
tool
11
Plan to open 2 more Regional Hubs and 18 more
market hubs in Tanzania within the next 18 months

Location Hub Function OPS

Arusha National & yes
Regional
Moshi Regional Nov `13
Mwanza Regional May `14
Arusha 10 Market Jan `14
hubs
Moshi 5 Market hubs Jan `14
Mwanza 5 Market hubs May ‘14

Current Hubs

Planned Regional Hub

Current Market Hub

Planned Market Hub

Mobisol has developed and executes standard
procedures across 3 tiers of operations

1 2 3

Installation
Customer Credit
& quality
acquisition process
assurance

13
Mobisol leverages marketing agents for direct
marketing

A Marketing Agent is a trained and certified, independent

entrepreneur who promotes and sells Mobisol Solar Home
Systems in target areas and gets paid on commission.

Mobisol provides every Marketing Agent with

• The necessary professional training
• An ID card as proof of being a certified
Mobisol Marketing Agent
• Promotional material
• A legitimate employment contract

Special offer for Marketing Agents

• Marketing Agents can prepare village presentations to reach a large number of customers.
• Assistance from Mobisol can include a professional presentation and a showcase Mobisol SHS
• Resulting expenses for Mobisol will be deducted from the Marketing agents payment.
Village Presentations an effective way to reach large
audience through direct marketing

Village presentations are professional Mobisol presentations for large groups of

people conducted in target areas by Marketing agents, supervised by Mobisol staff

Village presentations include

• An oral presentation introducing
– Solar Energy and its benefits
– Mobisol and its technology
– Business out of the box
• A demonstation of a Mobisol system to
showcase the functionality
• Live usage of appliances (phone
charging, music, lighting, hair cutting)
• Sign-up for potential customers
• On the spot system sales
3 tier credit screening process

Customer Outreach

Application Customer completes application form with help

of marketing agent

Credit Credit officers evaluate application

Evaluation

Decision Result communicated via SMS

Sale
Monitoring
Post-sale monitoring

16
Local technician network
Ensures high-quality technical service with wider reach at reduced cost

Installation &
Identifying Test & Training Payments
Maintenance
• Regional Hub • Local technicians • Customer • Technical officer
technical officers invited to 2 day arranges for confirms job
get seminar installation with completion with
recommendations technician customer
from village independently,
• Those who pass
leaders in Mobisol provides
test & training are • If satisfied and unit
catchment areas contact details.
certified: sign performing well (as
contract with shown by database),
• Target local Mobisol Hub on • Local technician full payment made
technicians who terms of must perform job to local technician
already work with engagement and on-site within 2
similar products compensation days of notification
(easy to find)
• Technical officer
collects customer
feedback to
assess quality of
technical service 17
Mobisol certified training is focused on sales,
technical aspects and credit

Description Ready materials

• Introduction to solar energy, • Training material developed

Product focus on Mobisol products • Trainers trained
• Goal to give solid understanding • National Hub able to provide
of technology, usage & benefits training

• Training on data base usage, • Database manuals in place

installations, and repairs • Installation & repair guidelines
Technical
• Guidance on how to set up local • Lessons learned document on how
to set up local fundi networks
fundi networks

• Training on successful sales • Guidelines on roadshow and

Sales strategies and marketing activities bulk sales activities place
• Guidance on how to set up • Marketing agent guidelines
marketing agent networks developed, incl. compensation

• Training on credit evaluation • Credit check guidelines in place

Credit • Detecting and managing
defaults 18
Bringing off-grid solar business to scale

Off-grid Solar and mobile technologies provide powerful solutions that have to date been
under-utilized

• 1.6bn people live off grid: this is one of the biggest inhibitors to development & poverty alleviation
• Solar PV prices have dropped 90%, making technology affordable to nearly all
• Mobile penetration very high even in remote areas
• The combination of both technologies can be the breakthrough for off-grid electrification

Mobisol’s unique selling points can be a game changer in the industry

• Mobisol’s engineers developed a unique suite of robust and plug&play solar home systems
• Products are affordable (prepaid), powerful (up to 200W) and remotely managed for Bottom of
the Pyramid (BoP) clients
• Over the past 2 years, Mobisol has distributed 1,500 systems to its target market, developing a
business model and a blueprint for operations scalable to millions

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OUR VISION 2015