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BBOXX raises US$1.24m in TRINE crowdfunding campaign

Africa , 16 Mar 2018

BBOXX raises US$1.24m in TRINE crowdfunding campaign

Off-grid energy company BBOXX has raised EUR1 million (US$1.24 million) via solar energy crowdfunding platform TRINE, with the month it took to secure the funding making it the fastest debt finance fundraise ever in the industry.

BBOXX's SMART Solar platform provides affordable, clean energy to off-grid communities in the developing world, with the company having deployed over 150,000 systems.

The company has already raised a number of traditional funding rounds and secured debt financing, and has now secured further financing via TRINE, a crowd-investment platform for off-grid solar energy.

TRINE and BBOXX launched the first of six crowdfunding rounds on 10 February, with the EUR1 million target hit on March 9. The loan will be disbursed at the beginning of April and enable BBOXX to scale up its operations in Kenya.

Should it be completed, the targeted EUR6 million investment will be the largest crowdsourced capital raise in the history of off-grid solar energy.

"We've tripled our funding capacity on the platform - it's an increase of 300 per cent in a month, which is fantastic. It shows a very large demand for sustainable investments and that TRINE's product solves a large problem," said Sam Manaberi, CEO and co-founder of TRINE.

Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of BBOXX, said the speed at which the funds were raised showed the enormous interest in tackling energy poverty.

"There are over one billion people without access to reliable electricity; it is a truly global challenge," he said.

"Our smart solar systems provide reliable energy access, delivering power for lights, home appliances and smartphones, which make a huge impact to economic development among the world's poorest communities."

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