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Nov 10, 2021

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Norfund invests €10 million in Baobab+, the leading distributor of solar home systems in Western Africa

Norfund is investing €10 million in equity in Baobab+, the leading distributor of solar home systems in Western Africa and Madagascar. The financing from Norfund comes at a time when Baobab+ has demonstrated its robustness despite the Covid-19 pandemic crisis: as of August 2021, Baobab+ had experienced sustained ≈ +60% yearly business growth. Expanding the presence of Africa Baobab+, a pan African group already present in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal and Madagascar, has equipped 220,000 households and served more than 1,200,000 beneficiaries in the past 5 years. This funding will allow the company to strengthen its presence in its existing countries and deploy operations in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Baobab+ aims to equip one million households with solar and digital products within 5 years

For Norfund, this investment is an opportunity to support a sustainable company with a strong social impact. For Baobab+, access to energy is also a springboard to enable every African household to take part in the digital revolution. In the countries where the company operates, Baobab+ has been a pioneer in launching a smartphone offer with flexible payment. In partnership with local start-ups, Baobab+ offers additional content that meets its customers’ needs, such as e-education, health or the management of small business activities.

To date, Baobab+ has equipped more than 90,000 households with digital solutions. In addition, in partnership with its parent company, the Baobab microfinance group, a major player in access to financial inclusion in Africa, Baobab+ has developed a unique scoring framework that allows its Pay-As-You-Go clients to become eligible for a nano-credit, using their repayment history from the solar or digital product serving as their first credit experience. This proprietary solution, initially introduced in Senegal, will be gradually deployed in all countries.
Alexandre Coster, co-founder and CEO of Baobab+: “I am very happy that Baobab+ is taking this next step, made possible by the incredible work done by our teams in the field over the past 5 years. We are fortunate to have Norfund at our side as we move forward. We share many common values.”

“Increased access to electricity greatly improves the living standard of people living in rural or poor areas, and Baobab+ has proven its ability to deliver great impact through a sustainable business model. Norfund is looking forward to supporting the company in bringing affordable solar energy to even more households and expanding into new markets through our first investment in the solar home system space in Francophone Africa, “ said Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO of Norfund.

For more information on this initiative visit www.norfund.no

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