LeapFrog-backed Sun King acquires PayGo Energy
Sun King, the largest off-grid energy company in Africa and Asia, has acquired PayGo Energy, an innovator in pay-as-you-go technology for clean cooking.
Sun King will seek to develop a range of cooking products powered by solar energy, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), electrical grids and other energy sources. The range of products will be paired with consumer financing services that allow African and Asian customers to pay for energy and equipment in small, affordable instalments.
Recently, Sun King raised $330 million through its Series-D funding round led by LeapFrog Investments. Sun King is rapidly expanding its pay-as-you-go solar product line and distribution network, introducing more powerful off-grid solar technology and expanding its presence to additional African countries.
PayGo Energy’s team of 40 employees in Nairobi is moving less than a mile down the road to Sun King’s office, now expanded to include a lab and workspace for Sun King’s new clean cooking team.
Globally, three billion people depend on open wood fires and charcoal stoves to cook food. The resulting smoke and respiratory disease are leading causes of early death in Africa and Asia.
“Swapping wood-based cooking fuel for practically any modern alternative – whether it be biogas, electricity, ethanol, LPG or solar – dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions, protects families’ respiratory health and preserves forests and biodiversity. We need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to phasing out non-renewable wood fuel in domestic cooking,” said Nick Quintong, CEO of PayGo Energy and now head of Sun King’s clean cooking team.
“We are thrilled to welcome the PayGo Energy team into the Sun King fold,” says T. Patrick Walsh, co-founder and CEO of Sun King. “By merging PayGo’s clean cooking product and software expertise with Sun King’s hardware and manufacturing know-how and our proven distribution channels, underpinned by Sun King’s 23,000 field agents, we hope to deliver modern, affordable cooking appliances and energy to families living across Africa and Asia.”