For two years, Balogun Adedayo’s tailoring shop in Epe, just outside Lagos, has had no grid electricity. Without power, his sewing machine doesn’t run, work slows down, and clients complain.
“We’ve been suffering because without electricity, we can’t use the sewing machine to sew properly,” he says.
Like many small business owners, Adedayo turned to a petrol generator. It could power his machine, but it came at a cost. “It’s expensive because every day there’s increases in fuel,” he says. Breakdowns added to the bill, with regular maintenance and replacement parts such as the carburettor eating into his small business’s earnings.
That changed when a MOPO hub opened in Epe. One of MOPO’s local agents visited his shop to demonstrate the MOPOMax, a portable battery that powers virtually all plug-based appliances, from fridges to sewing machines. Adedayo was impressed by both the product and the price. Like all MOPO batteries, it’s rented with no deposit and no contract.
The difference shows most in the run-up to festivals and public holidays, when orders pile up. Adedayo now relies on the MOPOMax to keep working through the rush. “I didn’t disappoint [my customers],” he says.
The savings have been just as important. Before MOPO, fuel took most of what his business earned. “If my total income is 1 million naira, I usually use 800,000 — I would just burn it on fuel,” he says. Now he pays a small amount for each rental. “MOPO has helped me reduce my expenditure.”
These days, Adedayo takes a MOPOMax home with him too. Adedayo has started renting one in the evening so that he and his wife can sit down together and watch television.
