Solar technology developer BBOXX has closed a Series D funding round with a new investment of $50m, the majority of which has been supplied by the Japanese automobile company Mitsubishi. BBOXX supplies pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar energy through remotely controlled solar home systems and hardware management platforms. The company is focused on the developing world, with the aim of helping developing areas overcome problems of scale by reducing their reliance on potentially unreliable and costly national grid energy. Through BBOXX’s PAYG schemes, customers can pay according to the energy they use, allowing wider access to utilities. This solar energy is also safer, more reliable and more ecologically friendly than kerosene lamps, which are often widely used in off-grid Sub-Saharan regions.

CEO and Co-founder of BBOXX, Mansoor Hamayun has said that Mitsubishi’s investment indicates Japanese interest in the African energy marketplace, specifically the renewable solar market. The Japanese company’s scale and sector experience is expected to help BBOXX reach a larger number of customers who lack access to reliable utilities.

The other investors include sustainable access promotion group ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies, impact investment firms Bamboo Capital Partners and DOEN Participates, and clean energy-focused growth equity firm MacKinnon, Bennett & Company. These investments follow a 50 per cent acquisition of BBOXX Togo by energy provider EDF last year.

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