All On, a Shell-funded impact investing company, is thrilled to announce a $500,000 investment in Koolboks, an innovative refrigeration solutions company that offers cheap cooling services to small companies and households, with a focus on expanding women’s income and employment prospects.
“Koolboks is particularly thrilled to close this deal that will ensure the scaling up of our business operations. We believe that depending on sustainable energy can help people earn a living and feed their family”, said CEO Ayoola Dominic. “It is a win for small businesses, a win for us, and a win for the planet at large.”
Why The Investor Invested
“Koolboks is a fast growing company and their products are currently sold in Nigeria and ten other African markets. This deal supports the company’s Nigeria expansion in the distribution of solar powered cold storage units.” said All On CEO, Dr. Wiebe Boer. “It aligns with All On’s strategic goal to support the deployment of off-grid energy alternatives for productive use.”
Read also Viva Technology and IFC Reveal Top 45 Most Innovative Startups In Africa
All On, an independent impact investing firm seeded by Shell, collaborates with partners to enhance access to commercial energy goods and services for unserved and underserved off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, focusing on the Niger Delta. All On invests in off-grid energy solutions encompassing solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and gas technologies that are deployed by both international and domestic access-to-energy companies in Nigeria to supplement the available grid power and assist close the country’s substantial energy gap.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Koolboks was founded in 2018 as a technology-enabled renewable energy refrigeration firm that offers cost-effective cooling services to business owners in off-grid locations in Nigeria and around the world.
Koolboks use pay-as-you-go solar freezers to provide cold storage for perishables and beverages to productive-use clients like fish dealers and neighbourhood stores in urban, peri-urban, and rural locations with limited grid access and high cooling expenses.
Read also Nigerian B2B Marketplace Betastore Raises $2.5M To Help Informal Businesses With Stock-Outs, Funding
In 2020, Koolboks concluded a commercial pilot project to evaluate consumer response to its main product, the KoolHome solar fridge. This funding would help expedite the deployment of KoolHome units in important regions of the Niger Delta and Southwest Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory and surrounding areas.
Koolboks solar freezers Koolboks solar freezers
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh