Participated · Series A · Apr 2026

Founded in 2023 by Yuma Sasaki in Ethiopia, Dodai assembles electric motorcycles and batteries locally and operates an infrastructure of battery-exchange stations that let riders swap depleted batteries. Since launch the company reports it has assembled and deployed more than 2,000 electric motorcycles. Dodai raised $7 million in 2024 and has now completed a $13 million Series A that mixes $8 million in equity and $5 million in debt. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its battery-swap network in Addis Ababa—aiming for 30 stations and 3,000 users within 12 months—and to scale to 30,000 users and 1,000 stations over three years. Dodai also targets regional expansion to several African cities starting in 2028, leveraging its integrated model of local assembly plus battery-exchange infrastructure.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2023

Circadian Technologies provides an Energy Management System (EMS) delivered as both hardware and Software-as-a-Service to solar developers and asset owners. Its platform supports design, sales, financing, operation, and maintenance of solar and storage systems. The company focuses on grid-challenged emerging markets, particularly in African countries. Circadian has partnered with Nigeria's Royal Power & Energy to deploy solar and storage installations across 50 bank branches. The firm intends to use new funding to expand its SaaS data platform functionality and scale operations to meet demand. Its technology aims to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables for commercial and industrial customers in frontier markets.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2022

Beacon Power Services (BPS) builds AI-enabled grid management software (Adora) and a Customer and Asset Information Management system (CAIMs) to give utilities real-time visibility into network performance and digitize customer/asset data. Its platforms connect to utility assets and customer nodes to preempt outages, identify losses, and help utilities recover revenue and increase daily electricity supply. BPS tailors its products to African operating conditions (for example, poor address systems and frequent outages) rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions for mature markets. The company has grown from a single utility in Nigeria to four utilities across two countries, including Ghana, covering more than 8 million customers. BPS works with clients as long-term partners and can defer most upfront deployment costs in exchange for service-based payments tied to value created. The company recently closed a $2.7M seed round to upgrade products, add features and automation, and expand into new markets beyond Nigeria and Ghana.

Participated · Series B · Dec 2020

Launched in 2015 in Senegal, Oolu provides affordable energy access via solar home systems to rural and peri-urban customers. Its core product is pay-as-you-go solar home systems; the company has sold more than 60,000 systems across Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Oolu plans to expand its core product offering to meet the needs of current and future customers and to further develop its operations in West Africa. Management said the business demonstrated resilience and customer demand during the global pandemic. The company raised new funding to accelerate growth across its five markets. Oolu sells pay-as-you-go solar home systems (SHS) to rural, off-grid customers on low monthly fees paid via mobile money, and provides installation, maintenance, free battery replacements and upgrades. The company was founded in 2015, incubated in Y Combinator, and operates with a Dakar-based management team and more than 130 full-time employees. Oolu has sold more than 34,000 SHS in less than three years across Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso. Its core product powers lights, phone chargers, radios, fans and televisions and targets customers who lack reliable or safe lighting. The company says it has ambitious product development and geographic expansion plans and aims to become a leading energy and financial services provider to rural households in West Africa and beyond. Oolu is a Senegal-based photovoltaic (PV) company serving off-grid customers in West Africa. It offers solar energy solutions and aims to become a leading energy and financial services provider in the region. The company will use its Series A proceeds to invest further in operations in Senegal and Mali and to expand into a third West African market in 2018. Oolu previously completed a seed round in 2015. The company raised US$3.2 million in equity in this Series A to support growth and customer expansion. CEO Dan Rosa described the fundraise as an important milestone and a vote of confidence from its investors.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2019

UpOwa supplies Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar home systems and energy services to households and entrepreneurs in rural Cameroon. The company is focused on expanding market penetration in challenging and isolated areas and plans to distribute higher-capacity solar home systems to amplify impact. UpOwa emphasizes scaling its model professionally while partnering with strategic investors and debt providers. Management includes CEO and co-founder Kilien de Renty, CBDO and co-founder Caroline Frontigny, and Loïc Descamps, managing director of UpOwa Cameroon. UpOwa secured a €3 million debt facility from EDFI ElectriFI to accelerate expansion in rural areas. The company previously completed a 2019 equity round with REPP, Colam Impact and LITA.co and extended a working-capital debt facility from Lendahand. EDFI ElectriFI expects the financing to help UpOwa reach over 60,000 households and entrepreneurs with access to clean electricity in the coming years. upOwa is a Cameroon-based Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar energy provider focused on delivering affordable clean power to low-income earners and small communities. The startup offers off-grid solar solutions aimed at supporting small businesses and household energy needs. It has set a target to provide affordable power for more than 1 million homes by 2022. upOwa plans to use newly raised funds to scale growth and expand its services to additional local communities within Cameroon. CEO Kilien de Renty highlighted the company’s rapid growth and praised investor support. The article notes investors will also open access to debt funding to support the company’s expansion across East Africa.