Rural Spark enable local distributors upscale their off-grid operations through PaygOps

Rural Spark is a fast-growing off-grid player headquartered in the Netherlands. They are entering the African market and are already present in several countries including Nigeria, DRC Congo, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. While new in the African scene, they have developed a solid product line in India since 2013.

Through PaygOps, Solaris Offgrid Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, and in combination with its modular hardware product line, Rural Spark is now introducing the “Rural Spark Service Platform” to provide a flexible tools-set for all local partners willing to offer extensive financial insights to their own customers, via “pay-as-you-go” (Paygo) mechanisms. Marcel van Heist, Co-Founder of Rural Spark to claim: “PaygOps is for us an essential part of our approach and we look forward to a strong partnership”.

Rural Spark’s product line is designed around their “Rural Spark Energy Router”, and allows a scalable and modular approach to Solar Home Systems, offering affordable energy access for people who need it the most while providing options to grow the capacity of their Solar Home Systems once they can afford it. An entry level energy kit offers a solar panel, one or more “Rural Spark Smart Cubes” to store energy for use after sunset, and a few lights. More extended kits can contain two solar panels, a 24” or 32” LED television and even a computer. The “Rural Spark Energy Router” can power or charge up to 16 devices on USB and a few more through the 12V ports.

RURAL SPARK TV KIT

In combination of this line of products, PaygOps adaptable on-boarding feature allow local Rural Spark distributors to properly assess the credit worthiness of their prospects, according to their context, while the (off-line) interaction reports and other trouble-shouting features enable such distributors to adapt the level of after-sales provided to their clients, in order to increase their portfolio health while maximizing the overall profitability of their model.

Rural Spark also cooperates with local partners beyond hardware development: providing them with financial credit lines (in addition to high-quality products and appliances) to help these local partners finance and upscale their market penetration.

Rural Spark and PaygOps (developed by Solaris Offgrid) respective mission is to co-build the energy access networks of tomorrow and both parties strongly believe in Solar Home Systems to be an important part of that mission. Siten Mandalia, CEO of Solaris Offgrid, to complete: “We are impressed by Rural Spark ability to aggregate all necessary skills to offer a full tool kit to their local partners, including modular SHS, user-inclusive Paygo technology, and even financial vehicles. Doing so, Rural Spark and PaygOps are already working together in 3 different African countries as a kick-off of this promising collaboration”.

---

About Solaris Offgrid:

Solaris Offgrid supports distributors of essential services to build strong customer traction andgreater relations with investors through flexible and inclusive Paygo solutions, designed for last-mile operations. Adopting a bottom up approach in the design of its solutions and creating synergies with a strong network of partners to solve last-mile challenges, the company has already deployed Paygo solutions in more than 30 countries through PaygOps, Solaris Offgrid in-house software solution built “In the Field, for the Field” and its product development services. Leading reference in the off-grid solar market, PaygOps, is engineered to deliver modular and interoperable solutions to address off-grid energy access challenges and distribution complexity. For more information on PaygOps, please contact [email protected].

About Rural Spark:

Rural Spark is a Netherlands based company that developed its solutions based on in depth research in rural, non electrified regions. We provide people with a high quality Rural Spark energy kit, consisting of an energy source and a Rural Spark Router and one or more Rural Spark cubes, to power any appliances of choice. The modular electrification solution provides energy from homes up to entire villages. Positioning itself in between a solar home system and a micro grid, the decentralized solution of Rural Spark generates the capacity of an average micro grid at lower costs, with a strong sense of ownership. Feeling ownership, creating livelihood and reaching even the poorest in a village, it allows people to really climb the energy ladder. Learn more about Rural Spark on www.ruralspark.com or get in touch with our VP Partnerships immediately on [email protected] to benefit from this multi-dimensional support, inclusive of PaygOps services.