Thabang Monale, an entrepreneur from Soweto and founder of Mohau Energy Solutions, believes that affordable financing is just as important as better technology when it comes to bringing solar power to South African homes and small businesses.
Before launching his renewable energy venture, Monale worked as a manager in a logistics company. While engaging with communities that struggled with unreliable electricity, he saw firsthand how limited energy access hindered daily life and economic activity.
Observing these challenges convinced him that there was a vital need for accessible solar power, prompting him to leave logistics and enter the clean energy space.
“We realised that there are still many people in South Africa who are not connected to the national grid and use candlelight, which is hazardous and expensive over time,” says Monale.
However, the core opportunity extended beyond supplying off-grid households—it lay in changing how customers pay for power.
While Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey showed that 90.6% of households had access to mains electricity in 2025, national figures mask localised energy vulnerabilities. For Mohau, the commercial challenge was making solar accessible to customers who could not afford high upfront costs.
The answer was a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model. Mohau enables customers to make daily, weekly, or monthly payments via Pay@ and EFT. Customers can also choose rent-to-own arrangements over 12 to 36 months, after which they own the system. This converts a traditional solar sale into an accessible energy-financing solution.
For low-income households and small enterprises, affordability—not demand—remains the main barrier. While households require lighting and phone charging, small businesses depend on power for freezers, printers, and tools. Mohau structures its product range around these varying demand levels, creating a direct bridge from basic domestic access to revenue-generating productive power.
The timing aligns with a broader market expansion. Stats SA reported that renewable sources accounted for 9% of local electricity generation in 2024, up from 2.1% in 2016. Furthermore, the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan targets over 25,000 jobs by 2030 through component localisation. For township entrepreneurs, this opens doors across sales, financing, maintenance, and distribution.
Mohau also addresses payment default through a circular approach. Customers in financial distress can access reactivation options like catch-up plans or payment holidays. If a system is returned, Mohau recovers, refurbishes, and redeploys the equipment, while end-of-life components are directed to certified recyclers.
Like many founders, Monale faced initial challenges.
“Funding will always be the biggest challenge an entrepreneur will have while starting. My company was not exempt from this challenge; I funded the company through personal savings,” he said.
Today, solar is no longer just about surviving power cuts—it is about affordability, independence, and driving economic activity in under-resourced communities.
