AFRICA – Baobab+, a digital finance company focusing on financial inclusion, has secured US$4.73 million from the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), managed by Triple Jump, and the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF), managed by LHGP Asset Management.
The company obtained dual financing of US$2.37 million to support its growth and expand its range to new products and therefore promote socio-economic development in rural areas in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
“We are very pleased to team up with Baobab+ for EEGF’s first investment, and work towards our shared mission of providing clean and affordable energy to off-grid families and entrepreneurs in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7,” Mathilde Sergent, Senior Investment Manager at Triple Jump, said.
“Baobab+ is a leading provider of energy access, digital and financial inclusion solutions in Côte d’Ivoire and we are glad to support the company’s further expansion in a country where over 6 million people live without access to sustainable energy.”
“OGEF’s investment will enable Baobab+ to expand operations to throughout Senegal while increasing the product offering to include more appliances, digital products and financial inclusion.”
Alban Deheunynck – Investment Officer, FEI-OGEF
Baobab+, which operates in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Madagascar and currently being deployed in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, supports households and micro-entrepreneurs in their energy autonomy and digital access, a prerequisite for their financial inclusion.
“Baobab+ has established itself the SHS market leader in Senegal thanks to a strong team and a unique and dynamic business model that serves individual and SME clients,” Alban Deheunynck, Investment Officer leading the transaction for FEI-OGEF at Lion’s Head, said.
“OGEF’s investment will enable Baobab+ to expand operations to throughout Senegal while increasing the product offering to include more appliances, digital products and financial inclusion. With this loan we are delighted to build on Lion’s Head’s wider relationship with Baobab Group, the parent company of Baobab+.”
Baobab+ has been operating in Senegal since 2015, where the company has distributed some 100,000 products, particularly in rural areas thanks to the “Pay as you go” system.
In Côte d’Ivoire, where it has been operating since 2016, over 50,000 products have already been distributed to households and micro-entrepreneurs.
“While in rural areas, only half of the Senegalese population has access to energy and this proportion is under 40% in Côte d’Ivoire, these two rounds of financing will greatly contribute to addressing this situation by allowing us to expand our distribution network of solar kits in these two countries while targeting micro-entrepreneurs further through the distribution of kits for productive use,” Alexandre Coster, founder and CEO of Baobab+, said.
Baobab+ managed to maintain a 60% growth in its “Pay as you go” (progressive payment) energy and digital distribution business in 2020, despite the pandemic context.
