Most of the innovations that leverage Kenya’s telecoms infrastructure aren’t oriented towards Nairobi techies, but towards the rural poor. M-Kopa is building solar lighting that allows families to power an LED light and charge a phone. What’s innovative about their product is its financial model. Families make a small payment when the system is installed, then pay via M-Pesa to keep it running. Once they’ve made the payments, about the cost of ten weeks’ supply of kerosene, they own it. Because the system can be shut off remotely, M-Kopa bets that it will have to reclaim very few systems.

via Ethan Zuckerman: ‘Africa’s hackers are today’s world-class tech innovators’ (Wired UK).