Nova Lumos is an Israeli-based company that wants to bring modern and affordable electricity to remote regions around the world, especially off-the-grid communities in Africa and Asia. Electricity is provided by means of distributed solar units – “power stations in a box” – and customers can purchase solar power for their units in small instalments (touted to be lower than the cost of kerosene and candles), much in the same way they already purchase airtime – through their mobile phones.
Nova Lumos already carried out pilot test projects last year, in select rural areas of Nigeria and Guinea.To make mobile payments work, Nova-Lumos has to partner with local telcos. So, in partnership with MTN Nigeria – and with funding from the GSMA’s Mobile Enabled Community Services (MECS) Innovation Grant Fund, supported by the UK Government – Nova Lumos will be rolling out to the Nigerian public very soon, to be distributed via MTN Service Points.
