Orange ensures that Africa gets a digital energy push

Orange Group’s solar unit opened up its IoT platform to power producers in Africa, a move aimed at making electricity more accessible.

In a statement, the company explained that access to its digital platform will enable energy producers to reduce the risk of missed payments thanks to the availability of “pay-as-you-go” solar equipment and prepaid smart meters, managed by the payment service. Orange Money.

According to Orange Energy, “this makes it easier for everyone to access energy in rural areas, down to the last mile,” labeling the platform as the only digital service of its kind on the market.

The software, called Orange Smart Energy, was designed in 2021 through a collaboration with partners in the energy sector and was initially deployed to equip Orange’s mobile infrastructure with solar systems, while only paying for the electricity consumed by each tower.

The technology also provides a platform for remote management of the clean energy kit.

Orange Energies said the move reflects its ambition to “make energy more accessible by becoming the partner of choice for energy producers in a region of the world where one in two Africans live without electricity, and where electricity companies want to improve the efficiency of debt collection. ”.

Today the company serves 300,000 households in twelve African countries.

Nat-Sy Missamou, SVP Orange Energies Africa and the Middle East, said the platform’s “pay-as-you-go service is delivered through a distribution model tailored to African markets”.

During an appearance at MWC Kigali 2023, Jerome Henique, EVP and CEO of Orange Africa and Middle East, highlighted affordable energy and connectivity as key to social inclusion.