South African startup Momint seeks to boost electricity production using blockchain-based solution – Bitcoin News

Using a solution based on blockchain technology, South African startup Momint has said its recently launched Suncash initiative aims to ease the country’s power generation challenges. For around $9, investors can reportedly buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) linked to solar cells that are then leased to institutions such as schools and hospitals.

Moment Pilot’s Solution at One Local School

A South African startup, Momint, recently said it has launched a blockchain-powered solution that could ease the African country’s energy woes by installing more rooftop solar systems at public institutions such as hospitals and schools. According to a News 24 report, the startup solution has already been tested at Delmas High School in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.

As explained in the report, investors who want to participate in this project can do so by acquiring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are linked to solar cells and are sold for a minimum price of just under $9. The solar cells are then rented out to institutions that agree to buy the electricity produced via a so-called standard power purchase agreement.

Ahren Posthumus, CEO of Momint, comments on the company’s solution to South Africa’s power generation crisis:

We’re a technology company trying to build the next 15 years, but what we realized is that we can’t build a technology company in a country that doesn’t have electricity.

Posthumus also claimed that his company does not expect to make a profit from the project, which he described as “not financially sustainable”. However, the CEO claimed that his organization chose to pursue this project because it wants to help South Africa overcome its power generation challenges.

Blockchain solution lowers the risk for Momint

On why the startup chose blockchain, Posthumus insisted that this not only makes the project transparent, but it also reduces the risk for Momint.

“We take legal contracts that represent ownership of each individual cell, and we put those legal contracts into a file commonly referred to as the ‘token’ on the blockchain. It’s called a smart contract. The smart contract says: ‘whoever owns this the token is entitled to the underlying asset’ and they are entitled to the revenue that the underlying asset generates,” the CEO said.

While the blockchain-based solution is seen as one of the most appropriate, it nevertheless has its own drawbacks. According to Posthumus, such a disadvantage is the risk of public institutions defaulting.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwean award-winning journalist, writer and author. He has written extensively about the economic problems in some African countries, as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.