Mali: Off-grid solar company secures investment

Energy+, a Malian-owned and managed off-grid solar company with a mission of delivering affordable and reliable energy to off-grid households, has received more than $1 million in commitments from a consortium of financing partners. The funding includes equity and fully funded enterprise development services (EDS) from VentureBuilder, which led the round, debt from Cordaid Investment Management, and grant financing from the United States African Development Foundation (USADF).

Mali is one of the most populous nations in West Africa, with 60% of its 20 million people living without access to modern electricity services. The financing package will enable Energy+ to scale its off-grid business throughout the country through the expansion of its pay-as-you-go and cash sales offerings via its retail network.

“In countries such as ours, pay-as-you-go is the best way to bring quality solar home systems to off-grid areas because it makes energy access easy and affordable. With the help of VentureBuilder, Cordaid and USADF, we will be in a position to transition, in a strategic manner, from a producer of small electrical batteries to a large scale distributor of high-quality solar products,” said Simballa Sylla, CEO of Energy+.

“Energy+ brings a powerful combination of remarkable execution capability alongside decades of market experience,” commented Dan Murphy, managing director of VentureBuilder. “With our financing and advisory support, we’re confident the Energy+ team is well positioned to mitigate the downside risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and to blend their unique local market knowledge with international good practice.”

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