Kevin Nyango
TechInAfrica – A major announcement by Nova Lumos Netherlands Holding that it will soon expand its operations in Ivory Coast has been received with gladness by the citizens. The Amsterdam- based company which mainly sells the Off-Grid Solar powers Kits in Nigeria has been on the lead to ensure African countries have access to power. In both Nigeria and Ivory Coast, Lumos has a deal with the M.T.N group Ltd., a South African based Telecommunications Company that allows the clients to buy electricity using the handsets.
During the previous year, Lumos contributed $90 million to avail power in various business premises and homes in Nigeria. Consequently, there was rapid expansion of market for the Off-Grid solar products. It is estimated that up to 1.2 billion people globally do not have access to power and that half of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lumos has sold 65,000 solar kits to Nigeria since it began distributing them in 2016. In Bloomberg city, a report has been compiled by the Lumos Chief executive officer, Nir Maron. The CEO said that the company is financing the expansion into Ivory Coast using the money that was invested in the company a year before. He said that the Lumos is trying to source additional funds from private market and government-backed development agencies.
Only about 40% of people in Ivory Coast receive power from national power grid out of 24million.The rest of the population depend on the diesel generator and kerosene lamps. The Lumos kits which have rooftop solar panela and battery will be sold all over to Ivory Coast by the MTN which has 10.5 million subscribers in the country.
