Yellow, a company that brings affordable and reliable energy and internet connectivity to Africa, has made an announcement regarding its Series B equity round. Yellow has partnered with Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF) through Triple Jump B.V., which will enable the company to continue its expansion and provide accessible and affordable clean energy and internet connectivity products to hard-to-reach customers across the continent.
Michael Heyink, Yellow’s founder and chief executive, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, saying, “This investment will enable Yellow to accelerate its pursuit of providing accessible and affordable clean energy and internet connectivity products to some of the world’s hardest-to-reach customers.”
Yellow has already catered to over 360,000 customers in Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Madagascar, with remarkable revenue growth of over 250% compound annual growth rate. Additionally, the company’s solar products have helped reduce over 500,000 metric tonnes of CO2e emissions, and Yellow is now seeing strong traction in smartphone finance.
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This investment will allow Yellow to continue providing value for money products by attracting customers committed to investing in assets with long-term improvements for their lives. This move will help in expanding renewable energy access in East and Southern Africa, according to Mark van Doesburgh, deputy head of the direct investments team at Triple Jump.
EEGF provides financing in equity, debt, and mezzanine instruments to achieve tailored solutions to meet the changing needs of growing energy companies. With a fund life of 12 years, it provides a longer investment holding and support period, recognizing the inherent need for such businesses in emerging economies to unlock value creation to their stakeholders.
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Yellow’s unique technology-enabled and system-driven approach has already impacted the lives of many in Africa, and this partnership with EEGF marks a significant milestone in Yellow’s journey to expand access to affordable energy and internet connectivity in Africa. The fund has set an ambitious goal of reaching over five million beneficiaries, including more than 240 women-led businesses, to help avoid 4.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating EEGF’s commitment to investing in innovative solutions that address critical global challenges.
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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