Oolu, a Senegalese energy startup to expand in Burkina Faso owing to BGFA contract
Oolu Burkina Faso has struck a deal with the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) to help scale up high-quality solar household systems for Burkinabes living in rural regions.
Oolu was founded in 2015 with the goal of providing inexpensive electricity to rural and peri-urban clients in West Africa. Thousands of solar home systems have been sold to clients throughout its six countries so far.
Oolu’s Burkina Faso subsidiary was founded in 2018, making it the country’s first firm to market renewable energy services on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis. It will now expand its activities in the nation in collaboration with BGFA, a multi-donor financial organisation that aims to help governments in Sub-Saharan Africa develop markets for clean, off-grid energy.
The contract is worth EUR2.5 million (US $2.7 million) in total, with a project budget of at least EUR5 million (US $5.4 million) in total. Oolu will expand its present business activities in Burkina Faso with the help of BGFA, intending to add over 28,000 new subscriptions over the next four years by delivering solar residential systems for lighting, mobile phone charging, TVs, fridges and freezers, as well as commercial power sources.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with BGFA to further scale up our business activities. In recent years, many communities in Burkina Faso have endured worsening economic, security and climate conditions. With the support from BGFA, we can improve people’s lives in these underserved communities by providing modern and renewable energy access at affordable rates, often for the very first time,” said Dan Rosa, co-founder and chief executive officer at Oolu.
