Grace Ashiru
Koolboks, a sustainable cooling firm, has just finished a Seed funding round that raised $2.5 million to make its cheap cold storage solutions available to companies throughout Africa
Aruwa Capital Management participated in the funding round and took the role of lead investor. Among the many other investors were companies such as GSMA, Acumen, Blue Earth Capital, and All On.
In 2018, the creators of Koolboks came up with a gadget to provide customers with affordable and energy-efficient freezers. This led to the establishment of the firm.
Using the unique ice-battery design and technology, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in off-grid places can boost their revenue and profitability while simultaneously reducing the amount of food and vaccines lost in neglected off-grid areas.
In addition, Koolboks provides innovative financing to its end users through a lease-to-own model. This model enables Koolboks’ customers in Nigeria to pay for their products every month, which makes the product more affordable for the small and medium-sized businesses that are served in areas with a weak grid or no grid at all.
Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) and remote monitoring are features of Koolboks. IoT systems also enable Koolboks to offer remote monitoring services to its end users.
Solar systems and appliances are sent straight from the company to the last-mile distributors outside Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Koolboks, Ayoola Dominic, said, “We are happy to be on the same page as Aruwa when it comes to how they invest with a gender lens.”We can help SMEs in the informal sector lower their costs and make more money, which raises their standard of living. We create a cheap product for micro SMEs that women usually own.
The most recent capital brings the total investment made by the company to date up to $3.5 million.
Using the additional capital, the company wants to expand its operations across the globe over the next several years and move into the next phase of its growth.
