The European Investment Bank has said it will provide a 10 million euro ($10.5 million) loan for residential solar system projects installed in the West African country of Benin.

French energy giant Engie will deploy 107,000 residential solar systems in Benin through the loan provided by the European Investment Bank. The lenders say the funds will provide electricity to 643,000 people.

These home users will use the PV system on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis, paying less than $0.20 per day. The European Investment Bank said customers will use mobile banking to pay for residential PV systems. The loan will enable these customers to pay for the PV systems in CFA francs, which Benin uses, instead of dollars.

Engie has become a significant player in the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) PV market in Africa following its acquisition of residential PV supplier Fenix International in 2017. Engie also bought struggling German PAYG service Mobisol in 2019.