Starsight Energy, a leading African
commercial & industrial solar power supplier with a significant presence in
Ghana, has been ranked the fastest growing solar and renewable energy company
in Africa by the Financial Times (FT).
According to the FT, in its inaugural ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies
in 2022, Starsight is the sixth fastest growing company in Africa and the first
energy and renewable energy on the list. The rankings show that Starsight made
tremendous progress since its inception in 2015. The company’s revenues in 2020
stood at US$8.886million as compared to its revenues in 2017 which was at
US$0.832million.
Currently, its absolute growth is 1154.403 percent and a compound annual growth
rate of 132.351 percent. Staff strength of Starsight stood at 42 in 2017 but
increased to 108 in 2020, hence making it to the fastest growing company
rankings by FT.
With more than 51MW of solar power installed in West Africa as at the end of
2021, the pan-African renewable energy company operates in three regions in
Africa: West, East and South Africa with a clear plan to be in other
regions.
Managing Director for Starsight Energy Ghana, Emmanuel Ayifa Baah in an
interview with the B&FT described the feat as humbling.
“It is humbling but at the same time it is a recognition of the hard work the
team has put in place over the period. It is just natural that you get rewarded
when you do solve a problem. It is humbling to know that what you are doing to
help companies Go Green whiles saving them on electricity cost & carbon
emissions has been recognised on a global scale.
When you have a business operating the previous year only in Nigeria and just a
year plus down the line, you have operations in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania,
and then into South Africa, obviously that is a major leap from one
location to all of these locations,” Mr. Ayifa Baah said.
Operations in Ghana
Delving deeper into the company’s operations in Ghana, Mr. Ayifa Baah explained
that there is some 10MW of solar power under deployment for commercial and
industrial institutions with over 50percent installed. “The bulk of our
installations are in Accra but we have installations in Kumasi, and some parts
of the Eastern Region,” he said.
Mr. Ayifa Baah, striking an optimistic tone, said by the end of 2022, Starsight
Energy Ghana is seeking to have more than 10MW installed for Commercial &
Industrial clients.
The call to adopt solar as a more sustainable power option
With the recent request for increment in electricity tariffs as a result
of a general increase in generation cost of utility companies, Mr. Baah
urged consumers, especially commercial and industrial users of power, to look
at solar as a more sustainable option. “When you go solar, you save money and
protect the environment at the same time,” he said, adding that at Starsight,
their lease-to-own package lead to consumers saving at least 15 to 45 percent
of their monthly electricity bills.
“We run a lease-to-own model. We build the solar plant at our cost, we maintain
it at our cost, you just pay for using the plant and while you are paying, you
are acquiring it. Our contracts start from five years and if you want a
contract for over 10 years, we can, we are very flexible with our options.
You do not incur any additional cost; you are still paying your monthly utility
at a reduced amount and yet get to own the plant within a number of years. Our
target starts from 15 percent reduction in your tariff all the way to 45
percent per kilowatts hour savings on electricity cost,” Mr. Ayifa Baah added.
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana