BFM 89.9

HIGHLIGHTS 
Podcast  >  Enterprise  >  Open For Business  >  Okapi Solar - Breaking Barriers to Solar Panels on Your Roof?

Okapi Solar - Breaking Barriers to Solar Panels on Your Roof?

Lai Zhern Yung, Co-founder, Okapi Technologies | Christopher Kwong, Co-founder, Okapi Technologies

14-Aug-24 10:00

Okapi Solar - Breaking Barriers to Solar Panels on Your Roof?

How can homeowners make the switch to solar energy without breaking the bank?

Founded in 2022, Okapi Solar is on a mission to make solar power more accessible to homeowners by offering financing solutions that eliminate the high upfront costs typically associated with solar panel installations. Okapi buys the solar panels first, and then leases it to homeowners.

Zhern Yung and Christopher, both with backgrounds in banking and engineering, share their journey of leaving the corporate world to venture into entrepreneurship. They discuss the challenges and opportunities they’ve encountered in the solar energy sector, and how their experience has shaped Okapi’s approach to financing.

Okapi Solar’s financing plans are designed specifically for landed residential properties, allowing homeowners to install solar panels with zero upfront payment and fixed monthly lease payments over a period of up to 10 years. The co-founders delve into the company’s business model, the balance between raising and deploying funds, and the importance of evaluating customer creditworthiness to maintain a healthy business.

As Okapi Solar targets financing 100 residential solar energy systems per month by the first quarter of 2025, Zhern Yung and Christopher also discuss their future plans, including scaling their operations, expanding partnerships with solar installers, and much more.

Tune in to learn how Okapi Technologies is lowering the barrier to solar power adoption, and what lies ahead for this innovative startup.

Produced by: Roshan Kanesan, Kishan Sivaswamy

Presented by: Roshan Kanesan


This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories:  technologyeconomyCorporatesmanagingmarketsenvironmententrepreneurs

Tags:  solar financing platformsolar panelsolar energy





Play / Pause

Listen now : BFM 89.9 -- The Business Station

Today’s Shows



11:00 AM

Best of Enterprise

(REPEAT) Sharmini Ann Jacob from KPMG Malaysia talks about turning national workforce priorities into real organisational capability, in the age of AI.

12:00 PM

Just For Kicks

(REPEAT) We look back at the semi final matches of the Carabao Cup that saw Arsenal and Man City booking their places in the final, and look ahead to Matchweek 25 of the EPL!

1:00 PM

A Bit of Culture

(REPEAT) Kam, Zan Azlee and Hafiz Noor Shams sit down together to talk about EPF retirement fund, James Brooke and the collapsing prestige of the west.

2:00 PM

Ringgit & Sense

(REPEAT) Ian Wong, Founder & CEO of Uno Advisers and licensed financial planner, shares the financial mistakes you don’t want to make in 2026.

2:30 PM

The Property Show

(REPEAT) Dr. Tan Loke Mun, Principal of DrTanLM Architect, assesses KL's River of Life project 15 years on.

3:00 PM

Best of The Bigger Picture

(REPEAT) What do the Epstein files teach us about power? To try and make sense of it all, we speak to Peter Beattie, Political Economist and Political Psychologist from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

4:00 PM

Best of Evening Edition

(REPEAT) With the launch of the Education Plan 2026–2035, we examine whether it can realistically deliver on the country’s ambitions as the government maps out its next decade-long direction for the education system.

5:00 PM

BBC World Service

This special episode of The Life Scientific features Dr. Eleanor Schofield, talking about her work conserving centuries-old wood and metal.