A fund managed by Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers is investing in next-generation utility platform BBOXX to help finance solar projects in Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The AIIF3 fund is investing $31m for a minority stake in BBOXX’s operations in the three African countries that will allow the latter to install 2 million solar systems by 2022.
The systems combine solar panels with batteries and are available on a pay-as-you-go basis via mobile money.
They will bring electricity to 10 million people in Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, BBOXX said.
BBOXX chief executive and co-founder Mansoor Hamayun said: “This latest deal with AIIM shows BBOXX’s commitment to mobilising greater investment and capital in the off-grid sector, through partnering with major global companies.
“AIIM’s investment will turbo-charge our operations in Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“This will allow us to scale rapidly and continue to drive disaggregation in what has traditionally been a vertically integrated market.
“We look forward to working together to power economic growth and transform the lives of underserved communities, by creating a platform which will bring access to affordable utility provision and value-added services.”
Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers chief executive Jurie Swart said: “We are delighted to be working with BBOXX to expand off-grid solar electricity to millions of people previously without access to basic utilities.
“BBOXX shares our vision to remove barriers to economic growth and facilitate the development of Africa’s economies.
“It is also telling that an infrastructure fund like ours is backing distributed solar through investing in a company of the calibre of BBOXX.
“It reflects both the ambition of BBOXX and the maturity of the off-grid sector.”