Rensource Closes USD 20 Mn Series A In Largest-Ever Round For A Nigerian Energy Startup
Nigerian renewable energy company, Rensource, has today made history by announcing the singular largest-ever funding round for a renewable energy startup in Nigeria.
Rensource has completed a USD 20 Mn Series A equity round, with existing investors, CRE Venture Capital and Omidyar Network, co-leading the latest funding round. Inspired Evolution, EDPR, Sin Capital, I&P, and Proparco are amongst other investors that took part in the landmark funding round.
The funds will be used to expand the company’s footprint of micro-utilities across Nigeria, as well as invest in additional technology infrastructure, as it rolls out new tech-enabled products and services for its merchants.
Rensource, which began commercial operations in 2016, had previously raised USD 579 K in debt financing in 2018. The startup is a leading renewable energy and merchant services company revolutionizing energy provision in Africa by building and operating clean energy-based micro-utilities for SME clusters in Nigeria.
Rensource prides itself as Nigeria’s fastest-growing provider of off-grid energy, powering the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Founded by Ademola Adesina and Jussi Savukoski, Rensource is plugging the holes in Nigeria’s power deficit through the delivery of renewable-based decentralized energy, focusing primarily on SMEs operating in seven clusters across six states in Nigeria (Lagos, Kano, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, and Edo).
The latest funding round will enable Rensource to expand its offering beyond energy and enter into Nigeria’s nascent offline to online (O2O) space, by offering technology-enabled value-added services to SMEs in the marketplaces it provides power for.
Commenting on the development, Ademola Adesina, Founder and CEO of Rensource said, “We believe that simultaneously greening and decentralizing its power infrastructure is the only way to navigate Nigeria out of its current state of energy poverty. Pursuing this with a focus on the millions of small businesses that drive our economy creates a massive multiplier effect whose benefit accrues to all.”
He goes on to add, “Our push into O2O is a natural step that leverages our existing infrastructure to further empower the merchants we serve. We aim to bring connect over one-million merchants in the next 5 years.”
With the launch of this new B2B platform, “Spaces O2O”, merchants will be able to access services that accelerate their productivity growth.
Jonathan Kirschner of Omidyar Network said, “Ademola is a true renewable energy revolutionary. We are thrilled to be working with Rensource to deploy affordable and innovative energy solutions to traditional retailers across Nigeria who desperately need it.”
Indeed, Nigeria’s installed grid capacity of 12 gigawatts means that only one in four people living in Africa’s most-populous nation is connected to the national power grid.
Rensource is, thus, tackling the power woes through the delivery of renewable-based decentralized energy, focusing primarily on SMEs.
