Azuri Technologies has created Azuri East Africa to be based in Nairobi as it consolidates its growing presence in the region. Azuri has appointed mobile industry leader and former Regional CFO of Eaton Towers, Snehar Shah, to lead its East Africa operations.

The Nairobi office brings together Azuri’s East African activities under a single operating entity in order to best share the organisation’s knowledge of PayGo best practice while maintaining the responsiveness of local representation.

“The creation of Azuri East Africa marks a further milestone in Azuri’s journey and demonstrates our continuing commitment to serving our customers in East Africa,” said Simon Bransfield-Garth, Chief Executive of Azuri. “I am delighted that leading industry figure Snehar Shah will be joining us to drive the next stage of our growth in the region.”

As a pioneer of pay-as-you-go solar power when it first entered the Kenyan market in 2011, Azuri has since expanded its reach outside the home of Africa’s ‘Silicon Valley’ to serve some 80,000 households across multiple African countries.

Azuri East Africa will be a launch pad for further expansion across the burgeoning East Africa region. The appointment of Snehar Shah as the General Manager of Azuri East Africa brings 20 years of expertise in investment, finance, and business development to Azuri.

Until recently Regional Chief Financial Officer of mobile towers business Eaton Towers, Snehar has a strong history in the telecoms and consumer services markets including with mobile operator Orange where he was head of the company’s mobile money business unit.

“As GM East Africa of Azuri I am looking forward to building upon my experience within the telecom industry. I was brought up in the Rift Valley where my grandfather was the pioneer in supplying battery operated radios, TVs and torches and am proud to be part of the growth of the pay-as-you-go solar products to the mass market in the same region,” said Snehar Shah.

Azuri Technologies’ internationally acclaimed home solar systems bring top class European design with high quality components to provide enough clean and reliable power for daily home lighting and mobile phone charging. For example, Azuri’s latest products include HomeSmart, a machine-learning technology that adapts to each customer’s individual needs to guarantee light at night, even in cloudy conditions. Instead of an upfront cost, Azuri systems are purchased through a Pay-As-You-Go model, providing access to essential power to rural off-grid households.

In Kenya, Azuri’s Quad solar home system provides customers with four LED lights with mobile phone charging and a rechargeable radio all for KES 50 per day. The new Duo product with two lights and charger is requires no deposit and equivalent daily payments as low as KES 31.50 per day.




Kenya’s Deputy Director of Renewable Energy, Faith Wandera-Odongo, said: “As the country continues to grow, greater demand is placed on the national grid due to increased economic activities. Strategic alternatives like those promoted by Azuri Technologies are instrumental in providing necessary clean and affordable solutions for both rural and urban consumers.”