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BBOXX successfully completes repayments
BBOXX successfully completes repayments to Energise Africa investors as the company continues to grow.
Bboxx, a UK-based company championing Africa’s economic development, is going from strength to strength following investment via Energise Africa and the business has now successfully completed its repayments to Energise Africa investors.
The organisation raised more than £2 million in finance from more than 1,000 Energise Africa investors through 7 bond offers, providing much-needed debt funding at an instrumental period for Bboxx, enabling them to expand their operations in DRC and Rwanda.
This funding was instrumental in Bboxx ongoing success in tackling the global problem of access to essential products and services in Africa and the company is now a ‘super platform’ expanding its solar access offering to more African countries; offering households, businesses and communities a reliable and affordable way to access life-changing energy solutions and other products, such as clean cooking solutions, smartphones, cash loans, e-mobility and solar-powered water-pumps.
Boosted by more than £500,000 in match funding from UK aid, the solar projects funded by Energise Africa investors enabled over 66,000 people living off-grid in sub-Saharan Africa to access pay-as-you-go solar energy, improving lives and building rural economies. By replacing reliance on fossil fuels, these projects also cut carbon emissions, playing a vital part in the fight against climate change.
Our partnership with Bboxx is a great example of how the Energise Africa platform can successfully introduce UK impact investors to impactful businesses in need of funding. Here’s an overview of what we’ve achieved together:
Financial impact
Total investment raised: £2,250,000
Total repaid: £2,446,042
Match funding from UK aid: £62,500 (every £1 from UK aid drew in £36 from the crowd)
Return to investors: 5% to 5.5%
Environmental impact
CO2 mitigated annually in Rwanda and DRC: 5,148 tonnes
Social impact
Lives improved by access to solar energy: 66,000
Bboxx’s ongoing growth sees the business expanding beyond solar energy access and scaling by forging strategic partnerships with governments and world-class corporates to provide access to more vital products and services to customers across Africa.
The company recently announced partnerships with Unilever to bring energy access to more than 1 million Kenyans and telecommunications operator Orange to connect 150,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo to a mini-grid model. They are expanding their sectors to mobile phones, clean cooking, water pumps, cash loans and e-mobility.
The success of Bboxx has seen them expand to become a ‘super platform’ that transforms millions of lives by providing access to essential products and services, directly contributing to 11 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. While Energise Africa investors played a vital role in helping Bboxx to grow to become the company they are today, they are now moving on to other sources of finance suitable to an organisation of their size and reach.
Energise Africa CEO, Lisa Ashford says: “We are extremely proud of the role Energise Africa investors have played in the ongoing success of the expanding Bboxx company. By providing affordable capital in the form of investments, they have positively impacted thousands of lives and played a vital part in the ongoing Bboxx success story. We look forward to hearing more about the impact Bboxx creates in the future, advancing our joint mission towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
Group CFO and Head of Relationships at Bboxx, Anthony Osijo says: “This financing facility has helped us to significantly expand our operations in DRC and Rwanda, enabling us to positively impact many more lives in these two countries by providing access to clean energy. We have been very pleased to partner with Energise Africa to accelerate access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy to hundreds of thousands of people across Africa. At that stage in Bboxx’s journey, this investment played an important part in the success of our company. We stay strongly committed to our mission to transform lives, and unlock inclusive and sustainable economic development across Africa.”
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