USAID/Power Africa Grantee Expands Operations and Lights Up 114,500+ Households in Malawi

The program awarded $2 million in results-based grant funding to four SHS companies, including Yellow, a leading supplier of Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar home systems in Malawi. Yellow has been operating in Malawi since 2018, selling affordable solar-powered systems to low-income customers in mostly rural areas. Yellow's sales agents install the devices, bringing electricity to many households for the first time. Malawi's current electrification rate is 15 percent, with only a five percent access rate in rural areas. The SHS Kick-Starter Program aims to increase access to electricity in Malawi by providing grant funding to SHS companies in instalments based on quarterly sales performance against targets. In addition to funding, the program offers companies streamlined access to operational support, such as training on project management, sales force effectiveness, and agent recruitment and retention. Under the Kick-Starter, Yellow has achieved 67,458 connections, bringing affordable, reliable, and clean energy to approximately 340,000 people across Malawi. With the support of the grant, Yellow has scaled rapidly, hiring around 700 sales agents, increased sales volumes while maintaining a high-quality credit portfolio, and opened a new sales office in Northern Malawi. The SHS Kick-Starter was catalytic in enabling this growth, and Yellow has strategically used the grant funding to raise additional capital, positioning the business for even more success in the market. Yellow's innovative technologies, such as its mobile application (app) Ofeefee, have driven business success. Ofeefee improves the distribution of Yellow's products to places where they could not go before. The app allows sales agents to track their performance metrics and commissions and participate in company competitions. Yellow has also introduced "Yellow Deals," a new platform on Ofeefee that puts all product offerings and sales requests in one place, transforming Ofeefee from a profile and education delivery platform to a sales platform. The addition of "Yellow Deals" makes it easier for agents to sell products and for Yellow to add new product offerings and pricing deals. Yellow's primary goal remains to provide access to electricity for its customers and, secondly, access to information through the sale of financed smartphone devices. Currently operational in Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda, the company aims to enter a fourth African country in the first quarter of 2022. Yellow's customer portal allows customers to access account information, see payment history, and explore Yellow's product catalogue. The company has also begun offering low-voltage plasma TVs and smartphones on PAYG packages, helping to ensure credit protection on the SHS units and enabling customers to build a credit history.