Financing to Go Fast

A retail chain in Mombasa rolled out solar + batteries to 12 sites using a green lease with the landlord and an as-a-service model with the EPC. Monthly service fees sat below their old Kenya Power bills, so approvals were quick. A Nairobi DC then used on-bill financing through the utility to spread LED + HVAC upgrades over 36 months, freeing cash for inventory. Pick the model per site: green lease when you don’t own the roof, on-bill when cash is tight, as-a-service when you want performance guarantees and uptime clauses. Standardise the contract template and vendor diligence once, then replicate across the network. If procurement worries about long contracts, tie payments to performance (kWh delivered, uptime) and build an exit path. The faster you standardise, the faster you move from pilots to portfolio savings.