Hyper-local outage alerts and predictions for Kenyan homes & businesses
Kenya's national electricity grid cannot meet growing demand, forcing frequent power outages across parts of the country.
BlackoutBeacon crowdsources real-time power status reports from users across Kenya to build an accurate hyper-local outage map. It delivers personalized push and SMS alerts, predicts outages using historical grid patterns and weather, and provides preparation checklists to minimize disruption.
Kenyan households and businesses in outage-affected regions
Offline-first mobile experience with SMS fallback built specifically for Kenyan network conditions and grid behavior, creating a community data moat no international app can replicate.
supportive
Interactive map with real-time power status pins from community reports
Customizable push notifications and SMS when power goes out or returns nearby
Quickly report your power status to contribute to the live map
Probability forecasts based on historical data, time of day, and weather
Outage history, frequency trends, and neighborhood reliability score
Dynamic checklists tailored to predicted outage length and your profile
Local advice and coping strategies from other Kenyan users
Correlation between weather events and outage likelihood
Professional outage history reports for businesses and insurance
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| phone | text | No |
| lat | float | Yes |
| lng | float | Yes |
| region | text | No |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| lat | float | No |
| lng | float | No |
| has_power | bool | No |
| reported_at | timestamp | No |
| notes | text | Yes |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| tier | text | No |
| status | text | No |
| current_period_end | timestamp | No |
| paystack_customer_id | text | Yes |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| title | text | No |
| body | text | No |
| sent_at | timestamp | No |
| type | text | No |
Relationships:
/api/reportsSubmit new power status report from user
/api/outages/nearbyFetch live outages within radius of coordinates
/api/predictionsGet 48-hour outage probability forecast for user region
/api/subscriptionsCreate or upgrade subscription via Paystack
/api/alerts/historyRetrieve user's past alerts
5 alerts per month, no predictions
None
None
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 180 | 11% | $693 | $8,316 |
| Month 6 | 1,250 | 17% | $7,437 | $89,244 |
Real-time community alerts, accurate predictions, and preparation tools built for the reality of Kenya's grid.
Seed with 50 free Pro accounts to active members of popular Kenyan Facebook groups (Nairobi Business Community, Mombasa Entrepreneurs). Offer free 6-month subscriptions to the first 15 businesses that agree to provide weekly feedback via WhatsApp. Partner with two solar installation companies in Kitengela and Ruiru who will bundle the app with their installations.
Official planned maintenance notices
Rarely real-time, no community data, poor mobile experience
Crowdsourced live data + predictions with superior UX
Broad weather alerts
No Kenya-specific grid intelligence or community reporting
Deep focus on Kenyan electricity infrastructure
Strong network effects: more reporters create exponentially more accurate maps and predictions, increasing retention and defensibility.
Smartphone penetration in Kenya exceeds 85% while grid reliability continues to deteriorate due to surging demand. Local payment solutions like M-Pesa and Paystack have reached maturity.
Insufficient early reporting density for accurate map
Heavy incentives and gamification for first 500 users plus manual seeding in key regions
Prediction model performs poorly with noisy data
Begin with conservative rules-based system, retrain weekly as dataset grows
Data protection compliance with Kenyan DPA
Work with local legal counsel from day one and implement strict consent flows
Success: 65% indicate they would pay at least $20/month for reliable alerts
Success: Weekly active usage >45% and NPS above 40
Success: 800 total users and $2,500 MRR by day 60
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