UAE startup Pawame secures $2.5m, launches $5m Series A round for expansion in Africa

  • Date: 06-Jun-2021
  • Source: Gulf Business
  • Sector:Technology
  • Country:UAE
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UAE startup Pawame secures $2.5m, launches $5m Series A round for expansion in Africa

UAE-based off-grid solar startup Pawame, has secured $1.7m in grant commitments, plus $750k in equity including $250k from Launch Africa. The company has also announced that it is launching a $5m series A funding round to further boost its growth and expansion into Africa. Pawame offers a portfolio of solar home systems in remote areas of Kenya on a micro-financed basis, using mobile money repayment, making it affordable to access clean and reliable energy, a statement said. Pawame aims for geographic expansion within and beyond Kenya, with the series A fundraising set to further accelerate its growth trajectory. Its current investors are primarily GCC based, with its largest shareholder being senior executives from the largest power utility companies of the Middle East as well as Launch Africa VC. With a team of 80 employees and over 200 contract agents and technicians, Pawame aims to electrify over one million people in sub-Saharan Africa that do not have access to grid power by 2025. The startup is also planning to extend its product range to other products, including appliances such as water tanks, solar water pumps and solar refrigerators, to empower families in rural areas to start their own business, and enable