Orange ties up deal with Greenlight Planet to light up off-grid homes

Orange has struck a deal with Greenlight Planet, a US-based solar energy company, that will see Kenyans living in areas not connected to the national grid access solar power. The partnership will see Orange shops become the distributor of the solar panels that come bundled with mobile phones.

“The availability of solar lamps for Kenyans living in areas with no electricity to light up homes and charge phones is a positive stride towards access to information,” noted Orange Telkom Kenya CEO Vincent Lobry.

The solar lamps under the brand name Sun King come with a two-year-warranty and will be available in all Orange shops countrywide. Those bundled with the mobile phones will retail at Ksh3,899 for the Sun King mobile, Sun King mobile Pro II Ksh4,699 and Sun King home Ksh8,799. Stand-alone solar devices that are not bundled with the Orange mobile device will cost Ksh2,900, Ksh3,700 and Ksh 7,800 respectively.

“Lighting is a fundamental necessity as other essential amenities. Yet, close to 1.5 billion people worldwide still don’t have access to grid-based lighting, and often individuals walk for miles to purchase fuel, and pay a fee to charge their mobile phones. We are ready to bridge this gap by providing affordable lighting solutions in partnership with Orange,” said Greenlight Planet CEO Anish Thakkar.

The two companies are planning to launch an internet-enabled device bundled with the solar lamps in March this year.