Investor Updates: April 28 2022 - Sun King raises $260m!

Sun King raises $260m to expand solar energy access in Africa

Highlights

• Sun King, a Nairobi, Kenya-based provider of solar energy products for off-grid homes in Africa and Asia, has raised $260 million in Series D funding in a round led by BeyondNetZero, the climate investing venture of General Atlantic.
• Founded in 2007 as Greenlight Planet by CEO Patrick Walsh, Sun King is an off-grid solar energy company targeting 1.8 billion consumers across Africa and Asia who lack access to reliable electricity. To date, Sun King has powered the lives of 82 million people across 40 countries.
• The $260 million financing includes $100 million in primary investment and will be used for continued geographical and product-line expansion, including larger solar systems and mobile phones. 

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

As African economies grow, the demand for energy by companies, homeowners, and industries increases by the day. This comes with challenges of climate change and energy depletion, however, many innovators and investors believe renewable energy can help Africa counter these challenges. Financiers mostly are skeptical about funding ventures in the renewable energy space, which has hindered growth in the sector, but Sun King’s successful mega fundraising round suggests the perception towards the renewable energy opportunity in Africa could be changing.

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Bboxx acquires Ghana’s PEG Africa for $200m

Highlights

• Bboxx, a London-headquartered cleantech startup that provides clean energy in Africa, has reportedly acquired Ghanaian-based PEG Africa in a deal worth $200 million.
• Founded in 2010, Bboxx is currently present in 7 countries—Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Rwanda, DR Congo, Togo, Guinea, and Kenya—and has raised $50 million from its most recent round.
• PEG Africa was founded in 2013 and provides a pay-as-you-go alternative to electricity to Africans without access to electricity. The business started in Ghana and has expanded into Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, collectively serving more than 2 million people and has raised $65 million in funding.

Source: TechCabal

Our Takeaway

On the back of muted growth in 2021, merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the African tech landscape continue to heat up this year. There have been at least 20 such transactions involving African startups so far in 2022, across the region. And importantly, deals of this size involving Bboxx and PEG Africa point to a maturing tech industry while setting the stage for investment inflows into the space.

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Nigeria’s OnePort 365 secures $5m seed funding

Highlights

• OnePort 365, a Nigerian digital freight forwarding startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding to drive the end-to-end digitization of freight management in Africa and support its expansion into new markets across the continent.
• With active operations in Nigeria and Ghana, OnePort 365 is building an operating system for cross-border trade in Africa, helping traders to manage their freight processes through a digital platform that enables seamless freight forwarding and other value-added services. 
• With this new funding, OnePort 365 plans to deliver a wide range of new services that will increase profitability across the board.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Africa contributes an increasingly significant amount to global maritime trade, with a reported 12% of the 811 million containers handled at ports worldwide. Its clearing and forwarding market is thus growing, with the market size estimated at $4.2 billion, and expected to grow 12.5% as new services emerge. However, several challenges—including congestion at ports and complex payment systems—could hinder the realization of this potential. Therein lies the opportunity for OnePort, and several other startups that are digitizing Africa’s freight forwarding space.