Cleantech startup Qotto announced that it has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round to expand its operations in existing markets – Burkina Faso, Benin and enter into Côte d’Ivoire. The funding round was led by Mauritius-based IBL Group, with The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF), Cordaid and Qotto’s existing investors participating in the round.
Established in 2016 by co-founder and President Jean-Baptiste Lenoir and co-founder Fabrice de Gaudemaus, Qotto specializes in creating and supplying standalone solar kits and lanterns to people living in Africa’s most underdeveloped and unelectrified regions. By using a pay-to-own approach, it makes its products accessible to those in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to the national power grid.
Given its steady pace of development compared to the wider West Africa area and successful testing and refinement of operations and services in Benin and Burkina Faso, Jean-Baptiste Lenoir says Qotto is well-equipped for a market launch in Côte d’Ivoire. He added that customers who have had the opportunity to try Qotto’s products in the country have voiced their interest and need for the company to expand into the Ivorian market.
Some of its current products include the Qotto Light kit, a panel, a battery, enough to connect 4 lamps and USB ports to charge mobile phones and the Qotto TV kit which is a panel, a battery, enough to connect 4 lamps and a television, always with USB ports to charge mobile phones.
Qotto’s is also thinking of expanding into East Africa this September alongside IBL who is also planning for an East Africa expansion too, after signing a partnership and agreeing to offer off-grid solutions in the region. Lenoir believes that Qotto has a huge opportunity to provide essential services and large Solar Home Systems offerings in this region.
This expansion effort comes after the upcoming introduction of new offerings in the market, such as financial services and internet access hotspots, as Qotto transforms into a full-service provider of essential services.
The proposed financial services encompass micro-insurance, micro-credit, and micro-savings offerings, developed in partnership with companies such as SUNU, a leading insurer in West Africa. Qotto reported that it has already sold thousands of life insurance policies.
The internet hotspots will be situated in busy locations like shops, restaurants, or bars, where there is high foot traffic.
In a discussion with Techcrunch, Lenoir said, “in sub-Saharan Africa, 650 million people do not have access to electricity, 550 million do not have access to the internet and 800 million do not have access to financial services. Many of these customers are overlapping in their needs for off-grid solutions, connectivity and financial services.”
“Our model helps to solve these critical issues under a single solution — which we call ‘essential services,’ backed by our proprietary technology stack. In addition, we are aligned with the SDGs to serve customers and improve impact indicators in our markets,” he added.
According to Qotto, its yearly revenue has increased by 50%, and it had 11,000 active clients by the end of the previous year. The company aims to surpass this number by more than double by the end of the current year, driven by its growth strategy.