Global financial services provider Barclays has provided prepaid solar power firm Azuri with a four-year $1.56 million working capital loan to help expand its African business.

Azuri operates in emerging markets to offer its ‘Indigo’ model, which combines mobile phone and solar technology to deliver pay-as-you-go power, replacing the likes of kerosene.

Indigo users buy scratch cards to pay for their energy, a similar model used to that of prepaid mobile phone services. The scratchcard is then validated using SMS from a mobile phone and the resulting one-off passcode is entered into an Indigo unit, which results in it operating for a period of time.

Customers are then able to also charge their mobile phones while having 8 hours of clean lighting for two rooms.

Azuri says after a period of time, customers are expected to have paid off the cost of their unit and have the option to upgrade to a larger system and access more energy through the Indigo Energy Escalator.

Company officials further say the offering cuts back on users’ energy spend by as much as 50%. Azuri says ‘‘independent’ highlights that Indigo lights extend users’ productive day by as much as 3.2 hours

The firm first implemented Indigo deployments in Kenya in September 2011.

“Barclays vision will provide the working capital finance for Azuri to deliver an additional 30,000 solar home systems in Africa this year. This landmark deal represents a major step towards opening up the commercial finance sector for distributed rural power,” said Simon Bransfield-Garth, chief executive at Azuri.

Sean Duffy, managing director of Technology, Media and Telecoms Industry at Barclays, said:

“We are fully committed to assisting the company’s growth and this campaign, which will deliver significant social and economic benefits in Africa.”