WiSolar offers flexible payment plans for power solutions

WiSolar, a renewable energy company in Nigeria and South Africa, has offered flexible instalment payment options to provide energy solutions to customers.

The company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tonye Irims, stated this in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.

WiSolar, a climate tech company specialised in solar electricity, has been operating since 2016.

Considering the power problems in Africa and the issue of affordability, WiSolar partnered with a local to make the payment flexible and conducive over a period of 24 months.

“We know there are issues about affordability, and we are addressing that by partnering with local banks in the countries we operate in. In Nigeria, we partnered with Premium Trust Bank. The bank actually finances the solar system, so people who do not have cash upfront to pay for it or do not want to pay cash upfront can break it over 24 months and pay in instalments. That’s how we address the issue of affordability as payments are concerned,” the CEO explained.

Irims disclosed that the cost of installation depends on the customer’s consumption and budget.

“Ideally, what happens is, if you tell us how many units you use or how many kilowatts you consume, we’ll be able to design the right system for that load, taking into cognisance what your budget is. For example, if you spend N150,000 monthly for your generator and the grid power, we will see if it will be okay for you to pay N200,000 over a 24-month period.

“The systems are guaranteed for 10 years anyway. So, after two years of payment, the rest of the years are just pretty much free electricity because it now belongs to you,” he stated.

The CEO told our correspondent that WiSolar engages in turnkey solar installations, where it installs full solar systems for residential and commercial purposes for power solutions.

He disclosed that the firm is also into battery manufacturing, saying plans are underway to have an assembly plant in Nigeria for batteries.

“The other side of the business is battery manufacturing, where we import and get container loads of battery storage from China.

“In the future, we’re looking at actually getting semi-knocked downs and having our own assembly plants in Nigeria to manufacture these batteries. The reason is that it’s cheaper, you avoid supply chain disruptions, and you create local labour in the markets you operate in,” he stressed.

Irims added that the energy problems in Nigeria and Africa are compounding daily due to the rise in population.

He expressed optimism that the energy problem can be significantly resolved by the government and the citizens’ adoption of renewables.