Zambian startup WidEnergy has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from the Germany-based GreenTec Capital to expand its operations.
WidEnergy is a woman-led for-profit social enterprise dedicated to female empowerment and the expansion of affordable energy access, which leverages an innovative pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model to provide solar-powered homes and appliances.
The company’s name is an acronym for “Women in Development,” reflecting its goal of engaging women as active participants in Africa’s energy transition. WidEnergy works with 80 female sales agents to distribute renewable energy solutions across Zambia, focusing on core competencies in lending and distribution to develop a high-quality lending portfolio with minimised default risks.
It has developed partnerships to be the Zambian distributor for d.light, Greenlight Planet, and Little Sun solar appliances and home systems, and expects to connect more than 1,250 households connected by next month.
It has now secured funding from GreenTec Capital to assist it as it develops its approach and model. WidEnergy recently completed an integration with MTN-backed mobile-money payments into its platform.
The investment is GreenTec’s seventh in Africa so far, and its second this year. The firm invested in Kenyan AI startup SuperFluid Labs in January, and has also backed the likes of Nigerian logistics startup Parcel-it, Kenyan insurtech platform Bismart, Namibian CPU producer PEBL, and Kenyan recruitment platform Netwookie.
