Mobisol’s installed capacity has reached 10MW, electrifying over 500,000 people in East Africa to date, according to a statement from the Germany-based provider of decentralised solar solutions.

The firm has operations in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, providing rural communities with solar home systems and units to power small businesses such as phone charging and barber salons.

Commenting on the milestone, Thomas Gottschalk, the Mobisol founder and CEO, said: "We are proud to have reached this important milestone to electrify half a million people in rural East Africa. But it does not end here, our vision is to help make poverty history by providing sustainable and affordable energy solutions to 20 million people by 2023 and, ultimately to show the world that a cleaner, non-fossil fuel dependent future is possible.”

The solutions are out there to sustainably, yet profitably provide energy access to millions of people, empowering people and boosting economies while protecting the global climate, he added in the statement.

The company fights global climate change by offsetting 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year through smart rent-to-own solar systems, according to Gottschalk.

Mobisol provides solar solutions beyond lighting and focuses on the development and supply of large solar systems that power a range of energy-efficient household and productive use appliances.

It is also looking to increase its offering around productive-use appliances targeting small-and-medium enterprises from 2018, according to Klaus Maier, the head of partnerships and expansion at Mobisol. Maier added that as part of its commercial strategy, the firm plans to develop many business-to-business (B2B) partnerships and support solar providers in an additional nine countries through their software suite SolarHub. The system builds a digital foundation for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) business models. The company aims to bring partners up to speed fast and increase the scaling of off-grid, he added.

"We’ve engineered reliable high-tech solar systems, paired with the most efficient appliances. We’ve developed highly innovative software, allowing for swift management from PAYG services… Now, we are putting a stronger focus on corporate partnerships, enabling other sustainable businesses to utilise our versatile software solution, save costs and efficiently run their operations, while concentrating on their core business,” Maier said.