Source: Tech Gist Africa
The Altech Group, which has its headquarters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has successfully secured loan financing and grant funding amounting to US$18 million. With this funding, the company plans to continue to bolster its market position and expand access to energy throughout the nation.
The Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), Triple Jump, and Rabobank primarily contributed to the loan funding through their own dedicated facilities.
Likewise, Social Investment Managers & Advisors (SIMA Funds), SIDI (Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l’Investissement), Kiva, Whole Planet Foundation, and EquityBCDC have all provided further support to Altech.
These funds were made possible by the organizations Creating Hope in Conflict: a Humanitarian Grand Challenge and ANSER RDC.
Since its founding in 2013, Altech has built a nationwide sales and distribution network with 4,500 workers and sales agents, serving more than 140 shops in 22 of the DRC’s 26 provinces. By selling more than 350,000 solar energy gadgets, it has improved the lives of more than 1.7 million Congolese.
“We have faced the serious challenge of obtaining working capital financing in our efforts to connect off-grid households in the rural, peri-urban, and urban areas of our country,” said Altech co-founder Washikala Malango. “Since our humble beginning in 2013 in our off-grid city of Baraka in South-Kivu province in the Eastern part of the DRC.
Altech will be able to distribute 180,000 solar goods and build more than 30 additional sales outlets in rural areas thanks to the US$18 million growth funding, extending access to dependable, clean energy to 900,000 more people.
Source: Tech Gist Africa
