Solar home systems startup Baobab+ has secured €4 million in financing for the expansion of its activities in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
The startup operational in West Africa and Madagascar secured funding from the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), managed by Triple Jump, and the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF), managed by LHGP Asset Management.
The startup is also currently deploying its systems in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo to help households and microentrepreneurs in their energy autonomy and digital access, which is a prerequisite for their financial inclusion.
According to the CEO of Baobab+, Alexandre Coster, he said: “While in rural areas, only half of the Senegalese population has access to energy and this proportion is under 40% in Côte d’Ivoire, these two rounds of financing will greatly contribute to addressing this situation by allowing us to expand our distribution network of solar kits in these two countries while targeting micro-entrepreneurs further through the distribution of kits for productive use.”
Baobab+ has been operational in Senegal since 2015, where the company shared some 100,000 products, particularly in rural areas thanks to the “Pay as you go” system. In Côte d’Ivoire, where it has been functioning since 2016, over 50,000 products have already been shared with households and micro-entrepreneurs.
In order to expand its range to new products and therefore to promote socio-economic development in rural areas, both in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, the company says it has secured dual financing of €2 million to support its growth in both countries.
According to the Senior Investment Manager at Triple Jump, Mathilde Sergent, he said: “We are very pleased to team up with Baobab+ for EEGF’s first investment and work towards our shared mission of providing clean and affordable energy to off-grid families and entrepreneurs in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal.
Sergent further said: Baobab+ is a leading provider of energy access, digital and financial inclusion solutions in Côte d’Ivoire and we are glad to support the company’s further expansion in a country where over 6 million people live without access to sustainable energy.”