This $12.6 million in funding ncludes investments from GDF Suez, Schneider Electric, Orange France Telecom, clean tech entrepreneurs Tom Dinwoodie and Warner Philips, and other impact investors. Fenix International¹ partners with global telecom companies such as MTN, Orange and Vodafone to supply mobile-enabled solar systems to off-grid African communities. The goal is to enhance the quality of life for people who lack access to energy and communications -- or the credit necessary to make such purchases.

“Fenix’s mission – to deliver improved quality of life to the 1.3 billion people who live without power in developing nations – is both inspiring and achievable,” said Tom Dinwooide, solar industry pioneer and clean tech investor.  “ReadyPay Solar² is in use in thousands of villages, helping tens of thousands of families modernize their homes and businesses with clean electricity -- all for less than the cost of fossil fuels.”
 
 Before ReadyPay, a solar energy system would cost a farmer more than a third of her annual income, according to Mike Lin, Fenix International founder and CEO. But now, she can finance clean, reliable electricity with her cell phone, by making micro-payments as little as $0.35 per day," he explained.

This most recent infusion of capital will enable Fenix International to accelerate production and reach even more communities throughout Africa, Lin noted.

REFERENCES

1. Fenix International, headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in East Africa, designs, manufactures and distributes ReadyPay Solar, a mobile payment-enabled solar panel and smart battery, which empowers farmers and other rural residents with convenient, affordable access to clean electrical power.
2. ReadyPay eliminates the need for dirty and dangerous diesel generators, candles and kerosene lamps that cause millions of fires and burns every year.  Customers can charge their cell phones, run businesses after dark, and study using clean, bright LED lights connected to the solar-powered kit.