Kenyan solar energy startup Pawame has raised US$1.7 million in grant capital and an additional US$750,000 in equity to fund its geographic expansion.
Founded in 2016 by Alexandre Allegue, Majd Chaaya and Nick Sparks, Pawame allows customers to access solar home systems via a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) subscription model, and also helps them to obtain micro-loans via their mobile phones.
The startup offers a portfolio of innovative, high-quality solar home systems in remote areas of Kenya on a micro-financed basis, using mobile money repayment. The business model also uses energy as a bridge to help families build a credit history and gain access to other products.
Disrupt Africa reported on the company’s last round back in 2018, and it has now secured further capital. US$1.7 million of that comes in the form of grants, which come from the likes of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, the Energy and Environment Partnership, SNV, AECF REACT Kenya, and the flagship World Bank-funded Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP).
Pawame has also raised an additional US$750,000 in equity funding, including US$250,000 from Launch Africa Fund. The company will use the funds to fuel its geographical expansion and accelerate the development of new products. It has ambitions to become a pan-African company and to electrify over one million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025.
In addition, Pawame has announced it is now launching its US$5 million Series A funding round to further boost its growth and expansion into Africa.
“Energy is just the beginning, supplanting dirty kerosene lamps, our solar products help protect as well as change the lives of off-grid families. The funds from our Series A equity round will allow us to accelerate our growth by delivering a broader array of life-changing products to more families in more of Kenya and, eventually, to other parts of Africa,” said Parets.
