Engie, a French energy company, launched its first cryptocurrency project in Africa to promote the adoption of off-grid solar technologies in sub-Saharan nations.
The company collaborated with the Swiss non-profit Energy Web developer of the Energy Web Token (EWT) to develop a decentralized crowdfunding platform where investors can deposit a certain number of tokens for a 12-month period and get a fixed interest rate of 10%.
Despite a two-week initial test period, the site managed to reach its investment goal of 20,000 EWT in just six days.
The Energy Web Foundation has sent $100,000 worth of EWT to Engie Energy Access, Engie’s subsidiary for off-grid solar solutions in Africa, where it will be used to fund mini-grid solar systems in three targeted African nations: Rwanda, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Customer payments under a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) model which starts at $0.19 per day for a basic mini-grid solar installment will be recouped to pay the investors their fixed interest.
Despite the recent cryptocurrency crash in which bitcoin dropped from $47,454 in late March to $19,777 in mid-July, the demand for cutting-edge blockchain and cryptocurrency projects does not seem to have decreased. Engie is relying on cryptocurrencies as a different means of financing its goal of becoming the top decentralized energy provider in Africa.
According to Stefan Zelazny, Head of Software and IT at Engie Energy Access, “The platform is currently at a proof-of-concept stage whose aim is to evaluate and understand the appetite of the crypto investment community.”
According to Engie Energy Access, because of blockchain technology, the energy company should be able to power 20 million people in Africa by 2025.