| Company | Bboxx Ltd |
| Sector | Power / Energy |
| Country | Rwanda, Kenya, Togo, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) |
| Total Project Cost | USD 42.3m |
| PIDG Commitment |
* GuarantCo separately provided Bboxx with a guarantee for its work in Kenya which is detailed here: Our Portfolio – Bboxx – GuarantCo |
| Dates of PIDG involvement |
|
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rate of access to electricity in the world. Approximately 600 million people lack access to electricity and 890 million cook with traditional fuels (IEA, 2018), which results in poor indoor air quality and associated respiratory illness. Off-grid renewable energy has been recognised by governments across the region as key to mitigating energy poverty at pace whilst also achieving nationally determined climate commitments. Off-grid solutions offer constrained countries access to grid expansion, such as those with extensive forest cover, the ability to electrify hard-to-reach remote, rural and peri-urban areas.
Bboxx is a next generation utility ramping up the provision of clean, reliable, and affordable energy access to underserved communities in Africa. The company has successfully delivered clean energy solutions through their solar home systems for over 2.5 million people globally, with substantial operations in countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Togo, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. PIDG’s support – deployed through its project development solution, InfraCo – is enabling Bboxx’s acceleration in existing and new markets across sub-Saharan Africa to provide clean energy solutions to hundreds of thousands of people in the region.
Bboxx operates a vertically integrated business which designs, manufactures, distributes and finances decentralised energy solutions including solar home systems and clean cooking solutions. InfraCo’s involvement will support the company to not only maintain its current growth trajectory but will ensure that Bboxx is well-positioned to unlock and attract further private sector investment to scale and grow its business.
Bboxx seeks to ensure that its services are affordable for customers by offering long-term hire purchase financing and Pay-As-You-Go mobile payments. The company also operates local sales, repair and refurbishment centres, generating employment. Bboxx is committed to attracting more women into its workforce.
Bboxx’s reliable systems run on its comprehensive management platform Bboxx Pulse®, enabling clean energy access to be scaled to places previously considered too expensive or difficult to reach via traditional grid infrastructure, displacing diesel and fuelwood.
