Oolu, a solar company based in Senegal, has announced the successful completion of a US$3.2 million round of equity investment. The Y Combinator start-up says this new fund will support Oolu’s continued growth and strategy as it seeks to address the energy needs of the more than 150 million people who live without access to electricity in West Africa.
This Series A fundraising follows its seed round in 2015 and was led by Persistent Energy Capital (PEC), joined by Y Combinator (YC) and other seed investors. Specifically Oolu will use the money to further invest in its current operations in Senegal and Mali, and to expand into a third market in 2018.
Oolu’s founding team, Nilmi Senaratna, Dan Rosa and Vincenzo Capogna, have long recognized this potential in West African markets, and gained valuable market insights during more than a year spent living in rural villages. This enabled Oolu to gain a large share of those markets in a short space of time, and since its launch in 2015, the company has enjoyed sustained growth. In particular, it has already partnered with the largest money transfer company in Senegal, WARI, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), and other key partners in West Africa.
The off-grid sector has seen more than US$360 million in investment across Africa in the past five years and continues to grow rapidly due to a drop in component and storage prices. Given the high barriers to entry in this sector, Oolu’s established market position—selling over 25,000 solar home systems (SHS) in under 2 years—experienced leadership team and strong investor backing mean it is well-placed to capitalise on wider market growth and better deliver clean energy services to underserved customers.
Dan Rosa, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oolu, commented:
“This fundraise is an important milestone, and a further boost for us at a very exciting time for the company where we see real and significant opportunities in the West African markets. Today’s announcement gives us great confidence that we are on the right track in pursuing our goal of becoming the leading energy and financial services provider in West Africa. We’re delighted to have the support of quality investors like PEC and Y Combinator, and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to grow the business.”
