Orange opens up its energy platform to all producers in Africa

The IOT platform launched in 2017 and is pitched as a ‘solution to the profitability challenges faced by energy producers in Africa, by reducing the risk of non-payment.’

Orange says it guarantees payment by customers of energy providers via mobile money and that the business model enables Orange Energies to provide a digital service and a distribution network that makes it easier to access energy in rural areas. It is claimed the platform is the only one on the market that supports both pay-as-you-go solar equipment and prepaid smart meters.

“Using digital technology to improve the energy inclusion of African people has been our ambition since day one,” Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa. “By opening up our Orange Smart Energies platform to all energy producers, we are taking a major step forward in our commitment to universal access to energy in Africa and the Middle East."

Nat-Sy Missamou, Senior Vice President of Orange Energies for Africa and the Middle East added: "We are working with energy producers to help them sustain their business in African markets. Leveraging existing digital and financial inclusion solutions, our pay-as-you-go service is delivered through a distribution model tailored to African markets." 

One in two Africans lives without electricity, claims the release, and providers in the region want to improve the ‘efficiency of accounts receivable collection’ – which seems to mean ensuring they get paid.

The platform is hooked up to 300,000 households across 12 countries – namely DRC, Madagascar, Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Jordan, and with this announcement it is presumably hoping to expand upon that footprint.

Elsewhere in Africa, Orange late last year said it had pulled out of the contest to acquire a 45% stake in Ethiopian telecoms incumbent Ethio Telecom, stating that believed “conditions do not allow for the rapid deployment of our strategy and the completion of a project that would create value for the company.”