The Value of Pay-As-You-Go Solar for Mobile Operators: Insights From Customer Journeys in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire

Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technologies, combined with mobile payments have enabled a new wave of consumer asset financing for low-income customers. PAYG solar energy has emerged as one of the strongest use cases for this technology and the sector has matured from a handful of pilots to a global industry in under a decade. The synergies between mobile operators and PAYG solar providers have been clear from the start. Mobile operators provide the fundamental ingredients for PAYG through mobile money and connectivity. On the other side, PAYG solar boosts operator revenues from mobile money transactions and other services.

Building on a 2020 GSMA study which showed that PAYG solar energy customers use mobile money significantly more than other mobile customers, this study looks at 120 in-depth interviews to understand the reasons behind customers' increased usage of mobile money. It presents ten key reasons why people change their behavior, and explores the questions of how, when, and for whom behavior changes.