Orange is set to launch a range of solar-powered freezers in 12 African countries where it operates, in partnership with the Franco-Nigerian startup Koolboks. Koolboks deploys a freezing and refrigeration solution through equipment equipped with solar panels and batteries that provide up to three days of autonomy.
Koolboks’ solar equipment also includes LED lights and USB ports, enabling quick charging of various devices like phones and tablets, according to an official statement. As per the same source, the partnership between the Orange Group and the Franco-Nigerian startup will first be implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo before expanding to the other 11 countries where the Orange Group operates, including Cameroon.
Ayoola Dominic, the founder and CEO of Koolboks.
“Koolboks is proud to partner with Orange to distribute our solar freezers. This product was designed to meet a need, allowing small businesses and families to store food and have light in off-grid areas. With this partnership, we can offer this luxury in many countries and regions,” stated Ayoola Dominic, the founder and CEO of Koolboks.
“No one should be deprived of refrigeration due to its cost. Thanks to Koolboks’ innovative integrated payment technology, distributors can offer Koolhome freezers to their customers with a rent-to-own option. With Koolboks, individuals and businesses can make small monthly or weekly payments to own a solar refrigerator,” the startup explained regarding the payment terms. In addition to the Aganza, Paygee, and Solaris platforms, payments can now also be made using Orange Money.
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 con
Koolboks, a cleantech firm located in France that provides affordable cold storage solutions to businesses across Africa, has acquired $2.5 million in initial investment.
Aruwa Capital Management, located in Nigeria, led the round, which also included Acumen, Blue Earth Capital, All On, GSMA, and other investors.
Koolboks will use the funds to expand across Nigeria, including the formation of a team to support its expanding B2C company and the construction of a local assembly plant. It will also aid in the company’s development into new markets and scaling.
Since its inception, the firm has gained significant traction, attracting over 3,000 unique consumers across all geographies. According to founder Ayoola Dominic, the whole transaction Koolboks recorded in 2021 was completed in the first two months of this year.
“We have been impressed with Koolboks’s innovative solution, which goes far beyond food waste reduction — the team’s laser focus on ensuring clean, renewable energy in off-grid areas is crucial to the survival of many small businesses and sectors as well as fostering economic gender equality,” said Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, the founder at female-led growth equity fund Aruwa Capital Management. “Equitable access to clean and reliable energy is key to closing the gender economic gap across rural areas, and we are excited to see Koolboks’ expansion continue to make economic equity a reality for millions more women across Africa.”
A Look At What The Startup Does
Koolboks, founded in 2018 by Ayoola Dominic and Deborah Gael, first sold an outdoor camping refrigerator to European campers. However, the France-based and Africa-focused firm shifted its focus in 2020 to a new market: business owners in off-grid regions in Africa and developing economies, beginning with Nigeria.
“Koolboks wanted to change the way the world experiences cooling. We had initially started with the camping world in Europe. Despite some success, it didn’t take us too long to figure out that our technology could be more impactful with the people that need it the most,” said Dominic, said in a statement. “These people find it difficult to feed their families because 40% of their food gets spoilt even before getting to the market. Some labor day and night to put their savings together to buy food stocks only for them to throw it away the next day due to lack of refrigeration.”
According to Dominic, Koolboks freezers use the sun’s ample supply of water to provide refrigeration for up to four days in the absence of power. A basic Koolboks unit may be used as a refrigerator, freezer, or lighting because it has two LED light bulbs and USB charging outlets.
The Paris- and Lagos-based company uses a pay-as-you-go strategy, allowing individuals and small companies, such as fish sellers, to purchase one of its 110–1,000 liter-sized off-grid solar freezers for $10 to $20 per month. They pay using their mobile phones or a POS agent near their stores; they receive tokens put as codes into the fridge, which they then use for a certain length of time.
“In Koolboks, we figured out a way to store energy in an extremely cheap form. Then the exciting fact is we integrated into this solution, a pay-as-you-go technology, which enables individuals to pay in small monthly, weekly or daily installments for their refrigerators.”
According to the CEO, the four-year-old firm is presently selling in 18 nations. There are 13 markets in Sub-Saharan Africa where it has distributors or dealers: Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. However, the organisation only has a physical presence in Nigeria and Kenya, the latter of which was established as an associate office last month. According to Dominic, Koolboks is also interested in opening offices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ivory Coast.
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
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.”
Credits: All On
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.”
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.
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.
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
