MALI – Mali based solar energy provider; SolarX has secured funding from a Class A fund raising organised by Energy Access Ventures (EAV) to support its ambitious plan to expand into other markets in the West African region.
SolarX supplies grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems that enable its customers to save on their electricity bills.
The Bamako-based company also provides solar pumping systems that are very useful for drinking water supply (DWS) in rural areas.
Africa Energy portal reports that the investment is expected to enable SolarX to expand its services in West Africa with the planned development of the solar market in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire.
In these countries, SolarX is expected to finance and install solar photovoltaic systems mainly for businesses.
“Because power generation in our target market comes from expensive, hard-to-get and volatile fossil fuels, most companies are looking for cheaper, more reliable and cleaner energy,” explains Karim Ghammache, founder and CEO of SolarX
The CEO of SolarX however noted that “despite market demand, it was difficult to attract financial partners before engaging with EAV”.
Mali, SolarX’s home country has recently seen a rise in the number of solar projects being implemented even as the government shifts focus to renewable energy as a main source of power for its people.
Early this year, A UAE based Independent Power Producer, Pal 4 Énergie Solaire, won a contract from the Mali government to build a 100 MWp photovoltaic solar power plant in Diéma in the west of the country.
The project also features the construction of medium and high-voltage lines that will connect the city of Diéma to the capital Bamako.
The construction of these lines should enable several localities to be connected to Mali’s national power grid, significantly increasing the number of Malians with access to power.
The Energy Access Ventures (EAV) investment fund is a seed investment fund that invests heavily in renewable energy in Africa.
EAV is sponsored by the French group Schneider Electric and managed by the venture capital firm Aster Capital based in Paris, France.
The renewable energy focused fund is funded by a number of development partners including the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Investment and Support Fund for Enterprise in Africa (Fisea), and the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC Group), the UK government’s development finance agency.
Energy Access Ventures (EAV) excels in financing off-grid suppliers in Africa, notably Nuru which recently commissioned a 1.3 MWp solar system in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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