Solar-powered phones make life easier

Access to mobile phone in rural Kenya was recently made cheaper and more attractive for the low-income peasants. Safaricom Company has introduced solar-powered mobile phones that not only cost little money but also put an end to long journeys and waiting time for electrical charging.
An average electricity-powered phone costs around Ksh 2,500 but the newly introduced, solar-powered ones cost only around Ksh 2,000. Moreover, instead of paying Ksh20 every two or three days to charge the battery, the owner of the solar phone will make no extra expenses on the phone. Also, they are reachable in the night, as they no longer have to switch their phones off to spare energy.

Safaricom introduced these phones barely two years after the introduction of the mobile banking system known as Mpesa. This made money transactions even easier and instant, as they take place outside the traditional, bureaucratic banking system.