EcoEnergy, a provider of affordable pay-as-you-go solar solutions in Pakistan, has secured a US$600,000 investment from SIMA Funds. The investment will help the company provide off-grid solar power to 10,000 poor rural households across Pakistan.
EcoEnergy landed the debt finance deal with SIMA (Social Investment Managers and Advisors), a social investment advisor and manager backed by the Dutch and Belgian government development banks, AXA, MetLife and USAID.
The raised money will be used to purchase hardware and software from BBOXX, a next-gen utility company. According to the Mansoor Hamayun, CEO of BBOXX, “Using Pulse and BBOXX hardware dramatically increase the ability of companies like EcoEnergy Finance to reach a stage of bankability.”.
The Pulse cloud platform enables distributed businesses to improve efficiency and enhance customer service. It alleviates some of the largest obstacles faced by distributed energy companies in developing countries, like managing customers, products, and staff located in remote regions.
BBOXX itself recently raised €1 million via crowdfunding.
In addition, the $600k in funding will aid EcoEnergy in expanding operations, which have been limited so far due to lack of funds to purchase hardware for off-grid communities across Pakistan.
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Asad Mahmood, CEO and Managing Partner, SIMA Funds, said:
Our view is that where there is pre-judgement or prejudice about risks of operating in a market, there is in fact likely to be opportunity in that market.
Pakistan has great promise for the off-grid solar energy sector, which remains mostly untapped. Indeed, the potential size of the Pakistani market is bigger than that of Kenya and Tanzania combined.
Shazia Khan, Chief Executive Officer of EcoEnergy, said:
Across Pakistan there are some 70 million people without access to grid electricity. This is holding back social and economic development.
We have worked hard to gain a deep understanding of off-grid rural Pakistani communities in order to determine the best way to meet their energy needs.
SIMA’s visionary work with us in securing this investment will provide us with the tools and services we need to expand the number of customers we can reach in Pakistan.
We aim to reach 10,000 more households before the end of 2018
