mopo
MOPO (Mobile Power Ltd) is a Sheffield, UK-based pay-per-use battery technology company delivering clean, affordable solar-charged energy to off-grid households, small businesses, and e-motorbike taxi riders across six Sub-Saharan African countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSheffield, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What mopo does
MOPO (legal entity: Mobile Power Ltd) is a Sheffield, UK-headquartered pay-per-use battery technology company that supplies clean, affordable energy to off-grid households, small businesses, and e-motorbike taxi riders across Sub-Saharan Africa. The company operates a vertically integrated "energy-as-a-service" platform comprising proprietary hardware — the 50Wh MOPO50 household battery and the 1kWh, 230V AC MOPOMax battery, used both for generator replacement and as an e-motorbike battery-swap unit — together with solar-powered MOPO Hubs that recharge the batteries, the MOPO App for agent-side payments (including offline capability), the MOPO Platform for real-time asset tracking and end-of-life/recycling management, and the MOPO Money offline transaction layer. Batteries are designed in Sheffield, with manufacturing and supply chain supported by a China subsidiary established in February 2023.
mopo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- mopo
- Legal name
- Mobile Power Ltd
- Website
- https://mopo.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- MOPO (Mobile Power Ltd) is a Sheffield, UK-based pay-per-use battery technology company delivering clean, affordable solar-charged energy to off-grid households, small businesses, and e-motorbike taxi riders across six Sub-Saharan African countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
mopo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Off-grid solar energy services
- NAICS
- Battery Manufacturing (33591)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Shared Mopeds/Motorbike Share (TLAFAMAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Collection, Logistics & Reverse Supply Chain (Transport, Sorting, Tracking) (EUAFACAA)
Keywords
Where mopo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sheffield
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices9 records
Markets served
mopo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Direct MOPO Battery Rental Revenue: Direct pay-per-use rental of MOPO50 and MOPOMax batteries to households and small businesses via local agents at solar-powered MOPO Hubs. Customers pay per rental transaction in cash or mobile money through the MOPO App; recurring and usage-based.
- AssetCo / OpCo Revenue Share: Infrastructure-finance revenue-share model where external AssetCos (e.g., CrossBoundary Access) finance and own MOPO Hubs while MOPO operates them and shares revenue. Used to scale deployment without dilutive equity.
- Direct B2B Sales: Direct sale/rental of MOPO batteries to enterprise customers (e.g., Batrica in Chad targeting 100+ hubs; healthcare facilities via HETA in Sierra Leone; motorbike taxi fleets). Provides bulk-offtake, fleet-scale contracts.
- Subscription-style Energy-as-a-Service: "Energy-as-a-service" model positioned as an intuitive, recurring service for customers without long-term commitments; pricing framed per-use, comparable to purchasing fuel or paying for a generator charging point.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-per-use battery rental priced per use (no upfront cost, no consumer debt) |
| Other | Multi-year contract | AssetCo/OpCo revenue-share for B2B and infrastructure-finance partners |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
mopo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MOPO provides pay-per-use battery energy services to off-grid African markets through a vertically integrated model: proprietary lithium battery products (MOPO50 and MOPOMax) are charged at solar-powered MOPO Hubs and distributed to end customers via a network of local agents and B2B partners. Customers rent batteries by usage rather than purchasing them, enabling access to clean energy without upfront cost.
Product overview
MOPO operates a vertically integrated 'energy-as-a-service' pay-per-use battery platform rather than a single product. The architecture is centred on the MOPO Hubs (solar-powered recharging stations), which distribute energy to end users through two proprietary hardware products — the household-scale MOPO50 Battery and the larger 1 kWh MOPOMax Battery (used for generator replacement and e-motorbike battery swap) — and through three supporting software modules: the MOPO App (agent-side payments, including offline), the MOPO Platform (real-time asset tracking and lifecycle management) and MOPO Money (cash and Mobile Money transaction processing). Together these products replace petrol generators and off-grid lighting with affordable, solar-charged batteries rented by local agents to households and small businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MOPO50: Compact 50Wh household battery providing basic energy access for lighting, phone charging, and DC appliances. The foundational product in MOPO's pay-per-use rental offering.
- MOPOMax
Products and services
- MOPO50 Smart Battery
- MOPOMax Smart Battery
- MOPO Hubs
- E-Mobility Battery Swap Service
Companies that use mopo
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
mopo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability1 record
Feature7 records
mopo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- IFC (International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group)flagshipStrategic partnership announced 27 November 2025 under which IFC provides strategic advisory services to help MOPO expand into new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Aligns with the World Bank Group's Mission 300 initiative to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.
- CordaidminorCordaid listed as a partner in the MOPO website partners section; Dutch development organisation.
- 3B Impactminor3B Impact conducted independent development impact monitoring and evaluation of MOPO's Energy Catalyst Round 7 project in Sierra Leone, producing the 'Innovation in Battery Storage for multiple uses' report (July 2022).
- Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA) / Power Africa / USAIDcorePartnership signed December 2024 to bring reliable 24-hour electricity to healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone. MOPO electrified Waterloo Rural Community Hospital and Wara Wara Faith Clinic with solar energy and installed MOPO Hubs nearby to serve the community. HETA is a Power Africa / USAID Global Development Alliance with founding partners Bechtel, RESOLVE, and Orange.
- University of SheffieldflagshipFormal Knowledge Transfer Partnership signed in May 2024 (informal collaboration since 2017). University engineers help MOPO develop longer-life batteries and explore second-life applications. Dr. Thomas McKinney shortlisted for Innovate UK KTP Future Leader Award 2025. CREESA grid-connected battery testbed cited in academic research on real-world battery diagnostics.
- Hinckley E-waste RecyclingcorePartnership signed February 2024 to facilitate recycling of MOPO batteries used at solar-powered hubs in Nigeria. Hinckley ships end-of-life MOPO batteries to Accurec in Mülheim, Germany, for recycling, delivering a closed-loop system compliant with Nigerian National E-waste Regulations.
- BatricacoreB2B customer partner in Chad that commissioned the first MOPO Hubs in the country in October 2023. Initial 10 hubs with a target of 100+ hubs across Chad (an 18-million-person market with ~10% electrification rate). Chad is MOPO's 7th country of operations.
- CrossBoundary AccessflagshipCrossBoundary Access and MOPO announced a US$10 million partnership in October 2023 to deploy 400+ MOPO50 Hubs in Nigeria — the first transaction in Africa to use an infrastructure financing approach to invest in battery-swapping technology. CrossBoundary Access committed initial $2.25M with option to extend up to $10M. As of August 2024, 90 hubs were on track for end-2024 deployment, reaching ~300,000 people.
- World Hope InternationalminorPartner providing MOPO agent training (e.g., on savings and budgeting) referenced in agent story about Morison in Sierra Leone.
- Pink Power (Sierra Leone)minorLocal NGO partner using MOPO e-motorbikes for alternative livelihoods for former sex workers and HIV testing support. Part of MOPO's Energy Catalyst Round 7 project in Sierra Leone.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights8 records
mopo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- M-KOPA: Kenya-based pay-as-you-go solar home system provider serving off-grid households across East Africa with a similar usage-based financing model; directly comparable to MOPO on customer segment, GTM, and pay-per-use economics, though M-KOPA owns assets in customers' homes rather than operating a closed-loop battery-swap hub network.
- d.light: Global pay-as-you-go solar company serving off-grid households across Africa and Asia; competes with MOPO for the same low-income customer base with similar usage-based pricing and agent-led distribution.
- BBOXX: UK-headquartered solar home system provider operating across Sub-Saharan Africa with a pay-as-you-go model; comparable to MOPO on customer economics, asset-financed solar product, and East/West African footprint.
- Zola Electric: Off-grid solar provider operating across multiple Sub-Saharan African markets with pay-as-you-go and hybrid battery-plus-grid solutions; competes with MOPO for similar household and small-business energy-access customers.
- Sun King (formerly Greenlight Planet): Pay-as-you-go solar home system company distributing across Africa and Asia via agent networks; directly comparable on customer segment, pay-per-use pricing, and last-mile distribution via local agents.
- PowerGen Renewable Energy: East African mini-grid and solar provider operating in Tanzania and Kenya; competes with MOPO in the off-grid energy access space with overlapping customer segments, though PowerGen leans more on site-based mini-grids than battery swap.
Broad incumbents
- Fenix International (an ENGIE company): Now part of ENGIE, Fenix distributed pay-as-you-go solar home systems in Uganda and West Africa; overlapping customer base and distribution model with MOPO, but with the balance sheet of a global utility parent.
Regional players
- Equatorial Power: Uganda-focused mini-grid developer building solar hybrid mini-grids across rural Uganda; comparable to MOPO's Uganda operations on geography and end-customer but uses a centralised mini-grid model rather than distributed battery-swap hubs.
Emerging players
- SolarArise (SolarArise India / Africa portfolio): Off-grid and C&I solar provider with African operations; an emerging peer in the distributed energy access space comparable to MOPO on solar-based rural electrification.
- PayGo Energy: Pay-as-you-go clean cooking and LPG provider in Uganda; operates a similar IoT-enabled pay-per-use model with agent distribution for low-income households, comparable to MOPO's sachet-style energy economics though in a different end-use category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat8 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
mopo social profiles
Digital presencemopo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
mopo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
mopo subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
mopo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
mopo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about mopo
What does mopo do?
MOPO provides pay-per-use battery energy services to off-grid African markets through a vertically integrated model: proprietary lithium battery products (MOPO50 and MOPOMax) are charged at solar-powered MOPO Hubs and distributed to end customers via a network of local agents and B2B partners. Customers rent batteries by usage rather than purchasing them, enabling access to clean energy without upfront cost.
Is mopo a public or private company?
mopo is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was mopo founded?
mopo was founded in 2017. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is mopo based?
mopo is headquartered in Sheffield, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does mopo make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Direct MOPO Battery Rental Revenue is the primary driver. The others are assetCo / OpCo Revenue Share, direct B2B Sales and subscription-style Energy-as-a-Service.
Who are mopo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are M-KOPA, d.light, BBOXX, Zola Electric, Sun King (formerly Greenlight Planet) and PowerGen Renewable Energy. Fenix International (an ENGIE company) is listed as a broad incumbent. Equatorial Power is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are SolarArise (SolarArise India / Africa portfolio) and PayGo Energy.
Does mopo have an API?
No public API is recorded for mopo.
What industry is mopo in?
mopo's product category is Off-grid solar energy services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAFAMAH, Shared Mopeds/Motorbike Share, with a secondary code of EUAFACAA, Collection, Logistics & Reverse Supply Chain (Transport, Sorting, Tracking). Its NAICS code is 33591.