Easy Solar Raises $5 Million Series A Funding to Facilitate Operations in West Africa

West African energy startup, Easy Solar, has raised $5 million in Series A Funding to facilitate its expansion efforts across Sierra-Leone and Liberia.

Business Elites Africa understands that the equity funding was led by impact investor Acumen and the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank –FMO, who both collectively provided $3 million of the total sum. Also, Gothenburg-based investment firm Trine, provided a $2 million debt facility.

While commenting on the fund raising, FMO’s Venture Programme Manager, Mareke Rstenberg, said Easy Solar’s model is very relevant towards facilitating electrification efforts in the aforementioned West African countries.

“Off-grid energy companies play a critical role in delivering clean, affordable, reliable energy without the need for grid infrastructure. Sierra Leone’s low electrification rates combined with limited alternatives for clean energy make Easy Solar’s business model highly relevant. The company has a strong and dedicated founding team, which has managed to grow the company substantially during the past years. FMO’s funding allows the company to continue this expansion, both inside and outside Sierra Leone.” 

Similarly, Acumen’s West African Director, Meghan Curran, said Acumen is thrilled to participate in the fund raising. She praised Easy Solar for making pay-as-you-go energy consumption possible in Africa despite certain challenges militating against their operation.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Easy Solar, Alexandre Toure, said the company plans to expand across West Africa whilst consolidating on its presence in Sierra-Leone.

“While further expansion in West Africa is on the horizon with this funding, we remain committed to our vision of going deep into the markets we operate in. We will continue to improve the reach of our brand and distribution network in Liberia and Sierra Leone — where we operate the country’s largest direct retail network — and leverage it to offer additional products and services to our customers, directly or through strategic partnerships.

“We’re also very excited to have brought such experienced and committed investors to the table as we continue with the scaling up of our C&I activities to answer the growing energy needs of offices, farms, factories, schools, hospitals, etc. across West Africa, with the same commitment to quality, ease of use and affordability.”

It should be noted that Easy Solar was founded in 2016 with the aim of bringing clean and efficient energy services to West Africans. Easy Solar offers a wide-range of energy products from solar lanterns to pico solar home systems and even kW-sized systems for both residential and commercial energy consumers.