West African developer and operator of microgrid utilities, Energicity Corp – led by sustainability-focused venture capital fund, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) – has closed on a $3.25 million seed investment to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity to over one million consumers in West Africa over the next five years. This round of funding follows an earlier investment by Treehouse Investments, which closed in November 2016.
Energicity Corp is present in several African rural communities with subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, currently serving 36 communities and 23,000 people. Through its utility service, Energicity has sold over half a gigawatt hour of solar powered electricity to rural off grid customers, increasing rural entrepreneurs’ incomes by an average of six times and serving 25 health care facilities with reliable electricity.
“Energy access is a problem in Africa that we can solve in our lifetimes with innovative solutions like ours and bold, transformative investors,” said Nicole Poindexter, Founder and CEO, Energicity. “We are excited to have Ecosystem Integrity Fund as a partner. EIF’s track record helping great companies scale by marrying sustainability and commercial success is very compelling as we bring our market leading energy services to millions on the continent of Africa.”
Energy access is a critical market need in Africa, with over 600 million people without access to reliable or safe energy sources, according to the International Energy Agency. Energicity works with a number of key partners in the region. Through its subsidiaries Black Star Energy and Power Leone, Energicity has a 20-year concession in Sierra Leone to serve 100,000 people and has the largest private mini grid footprint in Ghana.
