MOPO Signs Strategic Partnership with IFC
Left to right: Cheick-Oumar Sylla, IFC Regional Director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa; Jono West, Chief Impact Officer at MOPO; Yann Tanvez, IFC Senior Investment Officer, Infrastructure and Natural Resources.
Overview
MOPO, a UK-based technology company pioneering sustainable energy access, is delighted to announce a new strategic partnership with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.
This collaboration will accelerate MOPO’s expansion across sub-Saharan Africa, extending the reach of its innovative pay-per-use battery rental system that provides millions of individuals and businesses with access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy.
IFC joins Octopus Energy, Norfund, and British International Investment as a key partner supporting MOPO’s mission to scale clean energy access across the continent. The Company currently operates in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Chad, and Uganda, where it has successfully completed over 32 million battery rentals to date. IFC is supporting MOPO’s next phase of growth by providing strategic advisory services to help the company expand into new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.
MOPO’s “energy-as-a-service” battery rental model makes accessing clean power as simple and convenient as buying fuel, supporting a smooth transition to renewable energy for customers. Simply, through a network of solar-powered charging hubs managed by local agents, users rent smart MOPO batteries and return them, once the energy is used, for a fresh battery.
The proprietary MOPO battery offerings are tailored to different levels of energy demand and can only be charged at the solar powered hubs. The MOPO50 battery provides basic household energy for lighting, phone charging, and DC appliances, while the MOPOMax delivers one kilowatt-hour of 230V AC power, enough to replace noisy, polluting, and costly petrol generators. The MOPO Money platform facilitates offline cash transactions, and the MOPO Platform digitally tracks all assets in real time, ensuring accountability, efficiency, and security in the system.
By facilitating rentals in areas of unstable or no grid infrastructure, in much the same way people might purchase fuel or access generator-powered charging points, the experience is intuitive and easy to adopt. The model removes the need for upfront investment, high-cost infrastructure, or consumer credit, making clean energy both accessible and sustainable for unstable or off-grid communities.
Chris Longbottom, CEO of MOPO, commented: “By removing the financial and logistical barriers that prevent access to clean energy, the IFC has recognised how MOPO is transforming energy delivery across underserved regions. Our simple but unique agent-driven, tech-enabled model makes solar energy flexible, accessible, and affordable for the people who need it most. This is fundamental to unlocking opportunity and improving livelihoods, and our partnership with IFC represents a powerful validation of MOPO’s mission. Together, we are excited to scale our impact and accelerate Africa’s clean energy transition, delivering clean, smart energy to millions across Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Sarvesh Suri, IFC Regional Industry Director, Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Africa, said: “IFC’s partnership with MOPO highlights our commitment to accelerating private sector-led innovation in support of the World Bank Group’s Mission 300 initiative, which seeks to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030. Through collaborative efforts like these, we are not only expanding access to energy but also fostering job creation and local economic growth.”