New York-based not-for-profit venture fund Acumen and French clean energy venture fund Gaia Impact Fund on 13 February announced investments in Azimuth, a pay-as-you-go solar company trading as Easy Solar in Sierra Leone.
“Sierra Leone presents a complex environment, but one where we know we can excel”, said Easy Solar cofounder Eric Silverman. “We are thrilled Acumen and Gaia Impact Fund took a bet to invest capital not only in us but in our team as a whole and ultimately in the country.”
Easy Solar has been operating since 2016, when it was founded by Alexandre Tourre, Nthabiseng Mosia, and Silverman, and has more than 7,000 customers. The company sells solar lanterns and home systems.
“We invested in Easy solar because of the audacity of the team to impact one of the world’s poorest markets”, Acumen global energy lead Leslie Labruto said. “Easy Solar’s founding team has the right recipe of grit, local knowledge, and intuition to become a top employer in the country and make an off-grid energy company work in Sierra Leone”.
Acumen operates in 13 countries across East and West Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States.
More news and analysis to follow in African Energy 363, released 15 February 2018.
