- Zola has raised $90m to expand its products and services.
- The funds comprise equal part equity and debt financing.
- Zola has a target of providing energy access to 2.2 billion people globally.
Zola Electric has raised $90 million to expand its products offerings and markets. The funds comprise loan and equity funding of $45 million each. TotalEnergies Ventures, DBL Partners, Helios Investment Partners, Vulcan Capital and Electron Capital Partners provided equity funding while Dutch development finance company FMO and SunFunder led debt financing.
Zola believes that the funds will enable it to meet its target of providing energy access to 2.2 billion people and hundreds of thousands of businesses globally. The company currently supplies smart batteries that can run on varied energy sources. The company has also developed its proprietary software to manage and remotely monitor power systems.
Zola plans to use part of the funds to expand energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. The company plans to specifically market its product, Infinity, a power integration device that it says can work with power grids, solar panels and other power sources. Over 1.5 million users comprise over 300,000 households, and businesses utilise Zola products in several African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Namibia, DRC, South Africa, Zambia and Nigeria.
CEO Bill Lenihan stated that Zola needs strong field staff, developers, integrators and distributors who can connect with the customer in the field, solve their problems, install and maintain the systems.