Investec invests in Africa off-grid solar installer Mobisol
A consortium led by Investec Asset Management has invested in off-grid solar installer Mobisol. Berlin-based Mobisol has installed over 100,000 photovoltaic home systems in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The investment, alongside debt-financing deals, takes the company's newly-secured capital to over €20m ($25m), which it will use to help meet its target of providing affordable solar energy solutions to 20 million people by 2023.
UK-registered Investec Asset Management announced last week that alongside its consortium partners it has made a new growth equity investment in Berlin-based, Africa-focused off-grid solar home systems installer Mobisol GmbH.

The investment group, which also includes the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Dutch development bank FMO, first backed Mobisol in October 2016. Investec said in a statement that the follow-on growth equity investment, coupled with recently concluded debt-financing deals, brings Mobisol's newly-secured capital to above USD 25 million (EUR 21m). This sum was obtained over the past six months, according to the announcement.

Mobisol offers solar systems that allow homeowners to charge mobile phones and power lighting, radios and stereos, TVs and other appliances. Since its inception, the company has installed more than 100,000 systems in Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya.

“Mobisol’s partnership with the Investec consortium allows us to further grow and to set the stage for providing reliable and affordable solar energy solutions to 20 million people by 2023,” said Thomas Gottschalk, founder and CEO of Mobisol.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.843)

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