Homegrown Electrification Solutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Altech’s spectrum of electrification solutions for local markets
Since 2013, Altech, a Congolese-owned solar home system company, has been lighting homes in some of the remotest parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Altech’s founders, Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao know all too well the importance of home. During the Congolese civil war, they were forced to flee their village of Baraka in South Kivu. Their journey did not end in a Tanzanian refugee camp, but instead led to scholarships, graduate degrees, and awards, including the Washington Mandela Fellowship for Young African Leaders. With a mission to provide better homes to their fellow Congolese, Washikala and Iongwa focus on alternatives to expensive and potentially hazardous candles, kerosene lamps, or diesel/gas generators.
Power Africa’s engagement with Altech began in 2015 when the company received a seed grant from Power Africa’s U.S. government interagency partner, the U.S. African Development Foundation.
Since then, Power Africa has provided technical assistance, including tailored gender inclusivity support, financial management coaching, and support to launch Altech’s carbon-credit strategy. Power Africa’s support also helped Altech secure funding through the SIMA Angaza Distributor Finance Fund, a data-driven investment fund providing access to debt capital for last-mile distributors.
Thanks to the SIMA Angaza Distributor Finance Fund, Altech expanded its customer base to half a million off-grid households that are currently using clean and efficient energy solutions through pay-as-you-go payment plans adapted to their purchasing power.
Altech bases its success on a model that balances technology and human-to-human interaction. Altech offers products with built-in, pay-as-you go technology, which renders the product unusable in case of non-payment. Five-thousand Altech field staff, known as Solar Ambassadors, visit new customers to collect payments, incentivizing on-time payments through personal connections. These Solar Ambassadors also facilitate Altech’s substantial product warranty and maintenance coverage. Utilizing a social referral system, Altech both identifies potential new customers and confirms their ability to pay. This combination of technology, human interaction, and community involvement enabled Altech to realize a default rate of less than three percent.
While this one-on-one engagement model may not sound like a path for rapid growth, Altech has sold over 500,000 products, ranging from solar lantern/mobile phone chargers to larger solar home systems, over its 11 years in operation. These devices are positively impacting more than 2.5 million people. Not only is Altech steadily adding new entry-level customers, but more than 60 percent of existing customers have ‘up-graded’ from the smaller less expensive products to larger solar home systems including battery storage, and solar powered devices such as televisions, radios, and high efficiency cookstoves, all sold and serviced under the Altech brand.
Currently Altech operates in 23 of DRC’s provinces, and plans to expand into the remaining three by the end of 2024. By 2030, Altech aims to sell over three million products, benefitting more than 50 million people, and create more than 300,000 jobs.
Excited about the prospects of the DRC’s energy transition and their role in developing the country’s homegrown green technologies, founders Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao, are optimistic about creating a positive impact on millions of people across the country and “are very grateful for the trust of all our customers, the DRC government’s support, our development partners, and all the investors that have contributed to the growth of [their] business.”
