Across Africa, consumers are paying for access instead of ownership. They buy mobile data instead of fixed internet contracts, stream films rather than purchase DVDs, and use mobile money without opening bank accounts. Electricity is beginning to follow the same pattern.
Instead of spending heavily on generators, inverters or rooftop solar, more South Africans are renting batteries that keep homes and businesses running during power cuts. Companies such as bPOWERd, a battery rental startup, are building around reliable electricity being sold as a subscription rather than as expensive equipment.
As electricity prices rise, grids remain unreliable, and household budgets tighten, paying for power as a service is becoming more attractive than owning the hardware. South Africa, where years of load shedding pushed households to seek alternatives, has become an early market for the model. Nigeria, where many households and businesses still depend on petrol and diesel generators, is quickly becoming proof that the model can travel across Africa.
“What I believed, and what the market has confirmed, is that the demand for reliable power was always there,” Thandekile Madikane, Head of Country Operations for South Africa at bPOWERd, told TechCabal. “What was missing was a way to access it without the enormous barrier of ownership. When you rent, you pay for what you use, when you use it. No debt. No installation. No maintenance headaches.”
