Orange has confirmed its desire to become a key player in the energy transition sector in Africa by providing services directly to the general public or as a wholesaler to public operators at the Africa CEO Forum, which is currently taking place in Abidjan.

The telco plans to launch a service to provide rural communities access to solar energy and will do so initially in Burkina Faso followed by Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire in the coming months.

The service is already available in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar.

Bruno Mettling, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa said the company wants to be much more than a telecoms operator in Africa.

"We want to be a provider of essential services for our customers. The development of solutions that allow as many people as possible to access everyday essentials such as sustainable energy is a strong message in this direction," said Mettling.

Half of Africa's population of 1.2 billion does not have access to electricity and in rural areas, far from the national electrical networks, this rate reaches 82% of the population according to findings by Africa Progress Panel last year.

After the launch of Orange Energie in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in December 2017, then Mijro in Madagascar last month, Orange says it is now moving ahead with the deployment of its electrification programme for rural zones by launching its service in five more African countries.

Orange says citizens in these countries will receive a kit including a solar panel, a battery and accessories (LED light bulbs, kit to recharge several telephones, a radio and/or television). The equipment is provided project partners BBOXX in the Democratic Republic of Congo and D Light in Madagascar as well as Niwa in Burkina Faso).

"The solar kits that Orange is offering are robust and can light up a whole house, charge the household's mobile phones, and power a radio or even a television. Quick and easy to set-up, all you need to do is install a solar panel on the roof and a control unit in the house. Users also benefit from a full guarantee from Orange, which covers the entire installation, maintenance and repairs, in conjunction with technical partners." detailed Orange in a press statement.

Different packages have been included to suit the pace of each household's life with daily, weekly or quarterly subscriptions according to the telco and monthly subscriptions will start at US$15 Democratic Republic of the Congo although this will differ in other countries.