The rise and rise of Bboxx: Off-grid solar supplier lands another $50m

The solar home system company, which enables customers to pay their solar electricity bill through an app on their mobile on a PAYG basis, has conducted a monumental funding round as it eyes expansion in Asia and in its product range.

London-based off-grid solar company Bboxx has secured another $50 million for its African and Asian operations after a series D funding round led by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi.

A statement released this morning by African financial advisory specialist Enexus – which worked on the successful funding round – said Mitsubishi Corp led a group of backers which also included the Engie Rassembleurs d’Energies unit of French multinational electric utility Engie and impact investors from Luxembourg (Bamboo Capital Partners), the Netherlands (DOEN Participaties) and Canada (MacKinnon, Bennett and Company).

Enexus said Bboxx has now supplied 200,000 of its solar home systems across sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia. The systems involve the installation of a solar panel which can power up to five lights, a television, radio, torch or a 12 V battery. The customer pays for the service on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis using an app on their mobile phone.

Customer data is recorded by Bboxx on its Pulse monitoring platform. pv magazine has asked the London-based off-grid solar company what happens to the data harvested.

Funding rounds

The latest injection of capital is the latest in a string of investments for the company. DOEN and Bamboo are long-time backers of the business, having contributed to a $3 million series B funding round in March 2015. A further $15 million was secured from the two investors, as well as Engie Rassembleurs d’Energies; MacKinnon, Bennett and Company and others nine months later.

In January 2016 Bboxx teamed up with Dutch investment firm Oikocredit International to announce plans to attempt to securitize its solar home system business as an asset class, following the model of third-party solar companies in the U.S. At the time Bboxx said it was aiming to generate $2 billion from the move within five years.

Seven months later, Engie Rassembleurs, DOEN and MacKinnon, Bennett and Company were again on board as part of a $20 million series C round. In July 2017 Bboxx announced plans to install 300,000 solar home systems in Togo after winning approval from president Faure Gnassingbe and three months later the company announced a $5 million credit line from Deutsche Asset Management. The Togo operation prompted French electric giant EDF to acquire a 50% stake in Bboxx operations in the nation last year.

Moving into crowdfunding last year, Bboxx raised €1 million ($1.1 million) in a month in March 2018 and a month later started a similar program to attempt to generate £2.5 million ($3.05 million) annually from the same source.

And in May, the company secured an $8 million loan from the African Development Bank, denominated in local currency, to expand its Rwandan operations. That followed the injection of $31 million from the Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers fund in January.

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