Kenya’s Pawame raises over $2 million to expand its operations in Africa

Pawame, Kenya and UAE based off-grid solar start-up has raised $2 million from Gulf-based investors to electrify 150 million households in sub-Saharan Africa.

The funding raised will allow the firm to further accelerate its current growth momentum by expanding the Pawame’s footprint in Kenya and other parts of Africa.

According to Maurice Parets, CEO of Pawame, “Pawame’s business model is to grow sustainably, acquiring customers with its solar home system and collecting reliable data to build a trusted credit history. The company leverages customer’s credit scores as a gateway to providing families access to further life-enhancing products and services such as loans, insurance and access to TV/Internet.”

Pawame was recently a finalist at Harvard Business School’s New Venture Contest and at the SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event and was also a semi-finalist at the MIT Enterprise Forum for its work at Kakuma refugee camp.

“Universal energy remains a long-term aspiration rather than a short-term reality as electricity is still out of reach for over 700 million people in Africa. The potential for Pawame to impact lives is significant, and we have already touched the lives of more than 20,000 people in Kenya by giving them access not only to lighting, but to other life enhancing services.” said Alexandre Allegue, Chairman and Co-Founder of Pawame.