MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Baobab+ Raises $5m in Equity, Debt to Expand Pay-as-you-go Solar, Tablets in Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal

The French technology company Baobab+ recently raised EUR 2 million (USD 2.4 million) in equity from the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF), an initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB). Baobab+ also secured a loan of the same amount from the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), which is managed by Netherlands-based Triple Jump.

Baobab+ CEO Alexandre Coster stated that the funding will help Baobab+ “expand its distribution network of solar kits while targeting more micro-entrepreneurs” in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Baobab+ is a solar energy and digital technology company whose goal is “electrifying and digitizing rural areas in Africa.” The company offers solar products and technology such as tablets for agricultural, healthcare and educational purposes. Each of these is offered on a pay-as-you-go model, allowing users to have access to the items while they make periodic payments rather than being required to pay the full cost upfront. The firm serves Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal, and it is expanding to Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. In total, Baobab has equipped 200,000 homes with solar kits since its launch in 2015.

EEGF, which has assets of USD 120 million, seeks to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” Triple Jump manages EUR 907 million in assets placed in 157 portfolio companies as of 2020.

FEI-OGEF, which is managed by UK-based Lion’s Head Global Partners (LHGP), is a blended debt finance fund providing secured financing to renewable energy firms. Its equity investors include AfDB; the EU’s European Commission; the German government’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the multilateral Nordic Development Fund and the World Bank-affiliated Global Environment Facility. Its lenders are AfDB, All-On Nigeria, Calvert Impact Capital, Prudential Insurance Company of America and LHGP Asset Management. As of September 2020, FEI OGEF had USD 23.3 million committed and disbursed, plus USD 66.3 million in investable capital.

By Tejas Gumudavelly, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Afrik21 press release
https://www.afrik21.africa/en/africa-baobab-raises-e4m-to-distribute-its-solar-kits-in-two-countries/

Baobab+ homepage
https://www.baobabplus.com/

EEGF fund page
https://triplejump.eu/fund/eegf/

FEI-OGEF fund page
https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Generic-Documents/AEMP/FEI_2_-Pager.pdf

AfDB homepage
https://www.afdb.org/

LHGP homepage
https://www.lhgp.com/

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