Nigeria-based Okra Solar, whose products serve 14,000 people in Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria, and the Philippines, recently raised USD 8 million in equity from five investors. The investment package is led by US-based At One Ventures and includes USD 1.5 million from the Dutch development bank Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO). The other equity investors are all US-based: Autodesk Foundation, King Philanthropies and Susquehanna Private Equity. Along with the equity funding, Okra is borrowing USD 4 million from European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), a Belgium-based network of 15 organizations.
Okra plans to direct the fresh cash to expand its building of mesh grids, which combine solar panels and batteries with connections among nearby houses to allow them to share renewable energy. Compared to a minigrid, mesh grid connections use lower voltages, allowing for lower costs. Energy usage at each house is managed by a unit called a Pod, and a tool called Harvest allows power developers to manage the systems remotely.
By Renata Samadova, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Okra press release
https://www.okrasolar.com/press/okra-solar-raises-12-million-solidifying-the-future-of-mesh-grid-electrification
FMO transaction data
https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/35492978-f811-4f2a-91d4-06262ab5c6c9/monthly-transaction-overview-august-2023
Okra 2023 factsheet
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1utSlHX35oLz4obLb9g6amhjZsEJEUeYg/view
At One Ventures homepage
https://www.atoneventures.com/
Autodesk Foundation homepage
https://www.autodesk.org
EDFI homepage
https://www.edfi.eu
FMO homepage
https://www.fmo.nl
King Philanthropies homepage
https://kingphilanthropies.org
Susquehanna Sustainable Investments portfolio listing
https://www.sig-ssi.com/our-teams-investments
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