PAYGo

Prosper: A Product Innovation to Link PAYGo Customers to MFIs

A Conditional Rebate to Help Customers Light Up, Grow and Prosper

By Daniel Waldron

Source: Michelle Hassan, BFA

Source: Michelle Hassan, BFA

How can two institutions work together to create a pathway for PAYGo customers to become MFI clients? BrightLife, FINCA Uganda, and FIBR did just that by creating a product Prosper that allows clients to build a credit history that will enable them to access financial services. Learn how.

How Unbundling of the PAYGo Business Model is Driving Market Expansion

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Just five years ago new entrants to the PAYGo market had to be vertically integrated: under one roof, they had to be a direct to consumer sales and distribution business, a consumer financing business, and proprietary hardware and software. But times have changed. The core enabling PAYGo technologies are unbundling into standalone offerings that were not previously feasible to sell separately. There are now dozens of PAYGo-ready solar products on the market, multiple PAYGo technology platforms that are interoperable with a range of hardware providers, and unbundled software applications for inventory, call centers, accounting, and even smartphone apps available on a service or subscription basis. These changes have made it easier than ever to launch a PAYGo business, sparking a second wave of PAYGo operators who are able to specialize and focus on more difficult markets, and create opportunities for intermediaries throughout the value chain. 

Join this BFA / GOGLA webinar and panel discussion on how unbundling is playing out, the opportunities and challenges it presents to second generation PAYGo operators, and what the future might hold. The webinar covers insights from BFA’s work in the PAYGo sector through the FIBR Project, experiences of a second generation PAYGo operator (PEG Africa) and a leading PAYGo platform provider (Angaza), and perspectives on the implications of unbundling on the sector’s growth and future technology and business model innovation. 

Watch the webinar

FIBR’s Next Generation of Linkages to Financial Services: Betting on PAYGo

The Promise of Tangible, Flexible and Sustainable Services

Co-authored with Sushmita Meka

FIBR Project director presenting FIBR’s portfolio of PAYGo partners

FIBR Project director presenting FIBR’s portfolio of PAYGo partners

Reflecting on two years of FIBR’s strategic investments and technical assistance. What we’ve learned so far:

Insight 1: Fintech companies need to create incentives to digitize by providing immediate, tangible benefits

Insight 2: Fintech companies need tools to analyze and derive insights from the data

Insight 3: Fintech companies need assistance and tools to develop customer-centric, mobile-based apps with accessible user interfaces to expand their services

Insight 4: Fintech companies need support to develop relationships with FSPs to convince them to leverage their digitized channels to deploy digital financial services.

Continue reading our reflections.

Why MFIs will (Finally) Crack the Solar Market

Photo credit: Dan Waldron

Photo credit: Dan Waldron

Blog post written by Daniel Waldron

We have long hoped that microfinance would hold the key to unlocking access to energy for low-income households. Until now, we have been largely disappointed. Now, in partnership with pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar providers, that hope may finally become reality. This blog post explores the opportunities available for MFIs in the PAYGo sector.


Realities of Digitizing PAYGo Operations in an Unbundled World

PEG Africa Sales Agent, Juapong, Ghana. Credit: Martin Wright

PEG Africa Sales Agent, Juapong, Ghana. Credit: Martin Wright

Digitizing operations for PAYGo 2.0 providers seems like a no-brainer. After all, digitization can make operations more efficient, easier to track, and more cost-effective. But digitization is trickier in practice than on paper. Our recent work with PEG Africa, a leading PAYGo operator in West Africa, is a great example of the new opportunities and obstacles presented by digitization. Through building a smartphone app for in-the-field sales agents, FIBR helped PEG address a number of pain points that their agents experienced, improved critical data visibility to both their headquarters and agents, and strengthened PEG’s relationship with their salesforce. https://bfa.works/realities-of-digitizing-paygo-operations

The Promise of “Unbundling“ to Reshape PAYGo Solar

Photo credit: Oikocredit, a PEG PAYGo customer

Photo credit: Oikocredit, a PEG PAYGo customer

PAYGo solar companies are now looking to specialize in one or two pieces of the solar puzzle including hardware, software, distribution, consumer financing, and value-added services. If successful, this unbundling will create more product options and greater flexibility for distributors, financial service providers, and end consumers of solar energy. What are the implications of an ‘unbundled’ #PAYGo business model?

Jacob Winiecki explores the implications of an unbundled PAYGo business model in this first post in a series on FIBR's collaboration with PEG Africa. Read the post.

Predicting Payment Behavior in PAYGo: Machine Learning Can Power Customer Retention

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The PAYGo model makes solar affordable for end-users and provides sufficient margin for providers to scale last-mile distribution. However, for the model to succeed PAYGo operators must retain customers and build a base of loyal and engaged customers. Our project with Zola Electric (formerly Off Grid Electric) demonstrates that machine learning can help them do so. Read the post.