gnuGrid, a Ugandan energy startup, has secured a US$250,000 funding round to expand its services to more Ugandans, help it connect off-grid solar companies, and enter new markets in Africa.
The funding round comes from US-based investors and Uganda’s Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). This brings the total disclosed investment secured by the startup to $300,000. Back in 2019, it raised $50,000.
Founded in 2019 by David Opio and James Dailey, gnuGrid is reaching a market of solar system providers in Africa with AI-powered PayGo and AI-optimized hardware circuit board, starting in Uganda with a modern PayGo Solution, integrated with hardware that is easy to install as part of any solar array.
“The CRB will help many off-grid solar companies and informal financial institutions to de-risk pay-as-you-go investment and loan investments, and also predict the default rate. The purpose of the investment is to collect over two million customers into the CRB, hire more talents, and set up more data storage infrastructures because it is a requirement by the Bank of Uganda,” Opio told Disrupt Africa.
gnuGrid is in the process of raising another US$250,000, which it hopes to receive by the end of the first quarter.
The startup also plans geographic expansion, having integrated with MTN Liberia to enable access to that market, and also signed contracts with several other solar companies in Uganda and beyond.
“We want to focus on the off-grid solar market in Uganda and other markets, providing Solar Sentra as the bundled solution, and consolidate in-country market share and build a strong and skilled management team to take over in-country business development. We will onboard other local solar companies, scale to more countries, incorporate AI, and create a local IoT plant,” said Opio.