Koolboks, a Paris-based and Africa-focused startup, announced that it has closed a $2.5 million seed round to scale solar refrigeration in Africa. The seed round was led by Aruwa Capital Management, a Nigeria-based growth equity fund with participation from Acumen, Blue Earth Capital, All On, GSMA and other investors.
This brings total funding raised so far to $3.5 million since it was founded by Ayoola Dominic and Deborah Gael in 2018.
Koolboks provides a reliable and alternative long term storage technique due to the superior insulation and ice battery technology employed in the design
Koolboks provides a reliable and alternative long term storage technique due to the superior insulation and ice battery technology employed in the design. It also has a Pay-As-You-Go(PAYG) mechanism installed in its refrigerator which can can function as a refrigerator or as a freezer depending on the preference of the user.
Koolboks’ refrigerators use solar power with water which can generate refrigeration for up to four days in the absence of power. The typical Koolboks unit works as a refrigerator, freezer, or lighting, as it comes with two LED light bulbs and USB ports for charging mobile phones
Koolboks says it will use the new funds to expand across Nigeria and build its team to support the growth. It is also planning to build a local assembly facility for its refrigeration products.
Koolboks business model utilises the PAYG model whereby businesses pay $10 to $20 to own one of its 110–1,000 liter-sized off-grid solar refrigerators. payments are made through their mobile phones or a POS agent close to their shops; they get tokens entered as codes into the fridge which enables them use the fridge for a certain length of time
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