Kamworks is a social business in Cambodia that designs and assembles solar products locally, including PAYGO solar home systems. They have installed over 300 GSM-enabled solar home systems that allow remote monitoring and control of the systems using mobile networks. Customers can pay for the systems in installments using their mobile phones. Lessons learned include customers preferring to eventually own rather than rent systems, liking using mobile money for payments, and partnerships with organizations like microfinance institutions being important but taking time to develop. Remote monitoring of systems has been promising but control via GSM has faced challenges. Kamworks aims to accelerate sales in Cambodia and become a broader PAYGO solutions provider.

1. Introducing
GSM-Enabled
PAYGO Solar
in Cambodia
Dr. Benoit Lacroix
09/06/2016

2. The Cambodian Context
Only 34% of households
have grid connection
Most households use
car batteries to power
appliances

3. Who Is Kamworks?
• A social business established
in 2006
• That designs and assembles
solar products locally
• With a strong innovation
mindset

4. Kamworks’ Main Products
MoonLight Solar Lanterns
(12,000 units sold)
Solar Home Systems
(12,500 units sold)
Large Solar Systems

5. Kamworks PAYGO Solar Systems
1. Experiment new business models
— Rental and credit sales, with internal financing
— Collect payments using mobile money
2. Develop a pay-as-you-go solar home system
— Integrated in existing products
— Enforce repayments and remote monitoring
3. Objectives
— Initial target: 300 GSM-enabled SHS in customer hands
— 505 units installed in November 2015

6. Commercial Offers
Option 1:
Rental
• Perpetuity rental
• Low cost
• $20 per month for a 100W SHS
Option 2:
Lease-to-own
• 2 years loan
• $35 per month for a 100W SHS

7. GSM-Enabled SHS
• Available sizes
— 100W, 60W and 40W
• Retrofitted existing SHS with
GSM connection
— Control the product, for better
payment compliance
— Monitor the product, for better
and more cost effective service

8. The customer pays with his/her
mobile using Wing.
How Does It Work?
Kamworks manages payments
using its cloud-based billing and
management system.
Kamworks remotely monitors the
solar systems and switch them
using GSM technology.

9. Lesson #1
Try, Trust, Buy
• Customers want to own
— Big investment
— Require building trust
• Option: switch from rent to rent-
to-own
— 65% of customers initially rented
— Within 1 year, 45% had transitioned to
rent-to-own
• Rental used as a low-risk, low-
commitment way to test SHS

10. Lesson #2
Customers Like Mobile Money
• Standard use of mobile money:
send money to relatives
• Switching to bill pay was low pain
— Required some training of the shops
— Very good collaboration with WING
• 95% of customers prefer using
mobile money than using battery
charging services

11. Lesson #3
Financing Through Crowdfunding
• Partnership with the crowdfunding
platform Kiva
• Low-cost funding for the company
and the customer
• Phasing of the due diligence of
KIVA in stages is very helpful

12. Lesson #4
In Cambodia, the Bigger the Better
• Customers prefer the large systems
— 75% chose the SHS100
• Triggers purchase of appliances
— 50% of customers
— Flat screen TVs and fans

13. Lesson #5
Customers Pay Late
• Excellent initial repayment rates
• Challenge to maintain long term
on-time repayments
— Easy fall-back to previous solution
— Hard recovery when issue
• Work-in-progress
— Dedicated credit department
— Much stricter rules
— PAR30=0 for all SHS installed in 2016

14. • Mobile network operator:
— Initially focused on connectivity
— After 1 year of collaboration, moved to reduced pricing and co-
branding of the product
• Microfinance institutions
— Partnerships with Vision Fund and HKL
— On-the-ground knowledge and trust of customers
— Challenge to align priorities and incentivize field agents
Lesson #6
Partnerships Take Time To Develop

15. Lesson #7
Machine-To-Machine Is Key
• M2M monitoring very promising
— Used for remote troubleshooting
— Moving to predictive maintenance,
automated troubleshooting and customer
analysis
• M2M control challenging
— Network coverage issues
— Part of the problem on repayments rate
• Next version
— Keep M2M for monitoring
— Keypad + activation code for control
SHS GSM connection status

16. The Next Steps
• Accelerate SHS sales in Cambodia
— Kamworks certified supplier for solar loans financed by the French
Development Agency’s
— Next version of the product supported by the Cleanstart SHIFT
Challenge Fund of UNCDF
• Kamworks as a PAYGO solutions provider
1. Hardware with remote monitoring and switch off
2. Cloud based platform to collect and manage payments
3. ERP system to manage sales and operations

17. Thank you!
benoit@kamworks.com