aQysta delivers renewable energy powered processing solutions to smallholder farmers and agro-microenterprises in Malawi through both centralized hubs and decentralized systems. The company provides clean, reliable technologies for value added processing such as drying, shelling, blanching and storage to reduce post-harvest losses, improve product quality, and increase farmer incomes while lowering reliance on fossil fuels. Working closely with farmer groups and cooperatives, aQysta pairs equipment deployment with aggregation, offtake, quality control and market access through a revenue-sharing model. To date, aQysta has supported nearly 2,000 microenterprises in Malawi and is expanding its network locally, alongside operations in Nepaland India.
BioAfriq Energy is building decentralized processing infrastructure for smallholder farmers and agro-microenterprises in Kenya through its Dehydration-as-a-Service (DaaS) model. The company offers affordable, pay-per-use drying without upfront equipment costs, enabling users to reduce post-harvest losses, improve product quality, and access higher-value markets.
BioAfriq operates hub-based drying centers in key agricultural regions, generating recurring revenue through per-kilogram processing fees linked to utilization. The system integrates solar thermal energy, biomass heating and IoT-enabled monitoring to ensure consistent, food-safe drying while supporting multiple value chains including climate-resilient staple crops and high-value horticulture. To date, BioAfriq has served over 780 microenterprises and processed more than 5,000 metric tonnes of agricultural produce, and is scaling high-performing dehydration hubs to expand access across underserved rural markets.
BioMassters provides clean cooking solutions to households, schools, and food-based microenterprises in Rwanda through a vertically integrated pellet fuel and stove platform. The company replaces charcoal and firewood with locally produced biomass pellets to reduce fuel costs, improve health outcomes, and increase income stability, particularly for women-led businesses.
BioMassters operates a “tool-and-fuel” model, selling affordable high-efficiency stoves while generating recurring revenue from pellet sales. The platform integrates local pellet production, stove assembly, and carbon credit monetization, supported by ERP-enabled tracking and mobile money rebates. To date, BioMassters has deployed over 8,000 stoves and produced 3,500+ tonnes of pellets, reaching thousands of microenterprises and scaling its impact across Rwanda.
BrightLife provides solar-powered refrigeration, milling, and other productive-use assets to microenterprises in Uganda through PAYGo and embedded financing. The company leverages its national distribution network to enable small businesses in weak-grid areas to reduce energy costs, minimize spoilage, and increase and stabilize incomes.
Operating a distribution and financing-led model, BrightLife builds on its existing solar home systems platform, offering products through in-house PAYGo and MFI partnerships. Its portfolio includes solar refrigerators, freezers, and milling machines, supported by results-based financing and supplier credit. To date, BrightLife has reached over 60,000 customers and is scaling its productive-use asset offering to meet growing demand across Uganda.
ClimaVault Africa provides solar-powered cold storage solutions to small traders, aggregators, and agri-SMEs in Uganda. Through its pay-per-use model, the company enables customers to reduce post-harvest losses, extend shelf life, and improve income by accessing affordable, flexible cold storage without upfront costs.
The company operates a distributed network of mobile, solar-powered cold rooms positioned near farms and markets, supported by IoT-enabled monitoring for temperature control and asset management. In addition to storage, ClimaVault offers MunaFresh, an edible coating that further extends produce shelf
life. To date, ClimaVault operates 13 cold storage hubs serving over 2,300 microenterprises, with strong utilization and plans to scale its network across the country.
Dialight Trading Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of VIRL Financial Services, provides solar home systems and productive-use appliances to micro and small enterprises in Zimbabwe through embedded microfinance-backed lending. The company combines energy product distribution with accessible financing to help underserved businesses overcome unreliable electricity and high diesel costs, improving productivity and income generation.
Dialight operates a vertically integrated platform linking distribution with microfinance through its parent, offering solar home systems, refrigeration and other productive-use appliances through a hub-and-spoke retail and agent network. To date, Dialight has sold over 4,000 products, generating monthly recurring revenue with strong repayment rates, and is scaling its distribution footprint and financing partnerships to reach SMEs across Zimbabwe.
Easy Solar provides PayGo-enabled solar home systems and productive-use appliances to microenterprises and households in Sierra Leone. The company offers affordable, installment-based access to solar energy, enabling businesses to overcome unreliable grid access and high fuel costs while reducing operating expenses and improving productivity and profitability.
Easy Solar operates a nationwide distribution and financing model, combining product sales with embedded repayment plans supported by subsidies, grants, and bank partnerships. Its product portfolio includes solar home systems, freezers, and generators tailored for productive use across sectors such as agriculture, retail, and fishing. To date, Easy Solar has deployed over 400 productive-use appliances and is scaling its operations to reach thousands more microenterprises across Sierra Leone.
Fanga is an electric mobility startup in Côte d’Ivoire building an interoperable battery-swapping network for motorcycle-based microentrepreneurs. Through a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model, riders can swap batteries in under three minutes, eliminating charging downtime and replacing volatile fuel costs with predictable subscription-based energy access. Unlike traditional players, Fanga takes an asset-light, software-driven approach, focusing on data integration and interoperability across multiple OEMs rather than owning hardware.
The platform integrates mobile payments, usage tracking, and fleet management tools to support riders and operators. Currently at an early stage, Fanga has developed its MVP and will be piloting 120 motorcycles, with plans to scale to 1,000+ riders by end of 2026.
Furaha Financial is a Uganda-based fintech providing purpose-driven digital lending to underserved micro-entrepreneurs and low-income households. The platform
offers structured, purpose-tied loans initially for education and now expanding into electric motorcycles and other productive-use assets to reduce misuse and improve credit outcomes.
Furaha operates an asset-light model, managing loan origination, underwriting, and servicing through proprietary technology while partner banks provide capital. The platform integrates mobile money, alternative data, and credit scoring to enable real-time, risk-based lending. With strong traction in school-fee financing, Furaha is scaling into electric mobility to support income-generating opportunities for boda-boda riders.
In24 provides asset-backed financing for productive-use energy appliances to microenterprises in Uganda and Zambia. The company separates credit from sales and offers independent underwriting to address financing gaps in the clean energy sector, enabling businesses to access solar systems, refrigeration and water pumps without overburdening distributor balance sheets.
In24 operates as a specialized clean asset finance platform, partnering with distributors who originate customers while In24 manages underwriting, disbursement, and collections. Its model integrates digital loan management, geotagged asset verification, and portfolio analytics to improve credit discipline and reduce risk. Currently in early deployment, In24 is launching pilot programs across multiple countries and building a pipeline to finance thousands of productive-use assets through partnerships with leading distributors.
Jiwambe provides asset-backed electric motorcycle financing to informal riders and delivery drivers in Kenya. Through structured hire-purchase models, the company enables riders to overcome limited access to affordable finance and high fuel and maintenance costs, supporting their transition to asset ownership while reducing operating expenses.
Operating a financing-first, OEM-agnostic model, Jiwambe sources and deploys electric motorcycles under hire-purchase agreements, aligning repayments with daily cash flows and rider income data. Its platform integrates GPS tracking, collections, and income verification tools to manage risk and optimize portfolio performance. In 8 months, Jiwambe has deployed 100+ electric motorcycles in Nairobi, completing 100,000 rides with 1.5 million kilometers and generating KES 16M in rider income with consistently strong repayment rates.
KeepITCool is a clean-tech logistics company operating in Kenya and Uganda delivering solar-powered cold chain solutions for fish and poultry value chains. The company provides an end-to-end platform combining cold storage, refrigerated transport, and a digital marketplace to reduce post-harvest losses, stabilize supply, and improve incomes for small-scale producers and urban retailers.
KeepITCool deploys solar-powered cooling units at landing sites, offers refrigerated distribution and leases refrigeration equipment to last-mile vendors, while its Markiti platform connects producers directly to buyers and generates revenue through product sales margins and cold-chain-as-a-service.
To date, KeepITCool has supported over 5,000 fisherfolk and installed more than 400 cooling units, with plans to scale its infrastructure and expand access to affordable, reliable cold storage across the region.
Koolboks is a climate-tech company providing affordable, solar-powered refrigeration to underserved communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. The company enables small businesses especially women entrepreneurs to increase their incomes, reduce food spoilage, and transition away from fossil fuel-based cooling solutions. Through flexible financing models, Koolboks makes clean cooling accessible to those who need it most, supported by IoT-enabled systems that enhance monitoring, efficiency, and performance. Through its Koolbuy financing-enabled platform, Koolboks expands access to solar-powered appliances from multiple partner brands. Additionally, its Scrap4New circular initiative refurbishes old and broken freezers into new solar-powered units.
To date, Koolboks has deployed over 15,000 units. The company has a direct presence in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, and reaches over 25 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa through its distributor network.
Lenol provides lease-to-own electric motorcycles and modular battery-as-a-service solutions to delivery riders and small businesses in Nigeria. The company aligns financing with daily cash flows to enable microenterprises to shift from petrol-based transport and unreliable grid power, reducing operating costs and increasing income through more stable energy access.
Lenol operates an asset-backed financing platform deploying IoT-enabled electric motorcycles and shared battery-swapping systems under flexible daily repayment structures. The model combines clean mobility with distributed energy infrastructure, using batteries as both a transport and energy access solution
To date, Lenol has launched pilot operations serving market clusters with modular batteries and electric motorcycles to riders across Lagos, and is scaling its model through OEM partnerships and structured financing to expand access to clean mobility and distributed energy solutions.
Manamuz Electric provides solar-powered cold storage and greenhouse solutions to smallholder farmers and microenterprises in Nigeria. The company combines cold chain infrastructure with a digital supply chain platform to reduce post-harvest losses, stabilize supply and increase incomes while lowering energy and logistics costs.
Manamuz operates an integrated model linking modular cold rooms, greenhouses and its Coldbox Store platform for aggregation, storage and distribution. Revenue is generated through asset sales and lease-to-own models, pay-per-use cooling, and transaction fees across its platform. To date, Manamuz operates 7 solar-powered cold rooms serving 1,000+ microenterprises, with plans to scale its infrastructure and expand access to climate-resilient agricultural systems.
OKOA provides interoperable battery-swapping and energy-as-a-service solutions for electric motorcycle riders in Tanzania and Cameroon (in partnership with EDF). Through its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model, riders can swap batteries in under a minute, eliminating charging downtime and avoiding upfront battery costs while reducing operating expenses and increasing daily income.
The company operates an infrastructure-focused, OEM-agnostic platform, enabling compatibility across multiple motorcycle brands and supporting a shared, open battery network. Its system integrates battery health monitoring, predictive maintenance, payments, and usage analytics through its STIMA software. To date, OKOA is launching operations in Tanzania and Cameroon with 15 swap stations in each country and 500 batteries, serving over 250 riders, and is scaling its network and financing partnerships across both markets.
Rivy provides embedded financing for solar systems, clean energy equipment and electric mobility assets to micro and small enterprises in Nigeria. The company integrates credit into clean energy supply chains to help businesses overcome high upfront costs and unreliable electricity, reducing expenses and improving productivity and income generation. Rivy operates a technology-enabled platform offering asset finance, inventory financing for distributors and electric mobility financing for fleet operators. The EnergyStack platform connects verified OEM sourcing with point-of-sale credit to streamline access to financing while reducing risk, and also enables solar sites to monetize Renewable Energy Certificates. To date, Rivy has financed over 12,000 assets and is scaling lending operations and partnerships to expand access to productive-use energy solutions across Nigeria.
Samaking aggregates and distributes fish across Kenya using cold chain infrastructure, helping informal traders, most of them microenterprises, reduce spoilage, stabilize supply and improve margins. Founded by Clinton Obura, who grew up in Mbita on the shores of Lake Victoria, the company is rooted in proximity to the problem and the role fish plays as both a livelihood and economic lifeline. Samaking sources from fish farmers around Lake Victoria and distributes through urban wholesale hubs to informal retailers, with quality control, cold storage and digital tools integrated into operations. The company currently serves over 800 traders through its Nairobi hub and is expanding across Kenya, with a mission to make fish the number one protein on African plates while improving livelihoods across the value chain.
TRÍ is an e-mobility company building and deploying a full electric mobility stack for African cities. Headquartered in Dar es Salaam, TRÍ operates across Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya, offering electric motorbikes, tuktuks and cars alongside the charging infrastructure that powers them. The platform is supported by proprietary Charge OS and Fleet OS software used by station operators, fleet managers and drivers. Drivers using TRÍ vehicles reduce fuel costs by up to 90% compared to petrol alternatives, often doubling daily take-home pay, while each vehicle avoids around 6 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.
Yongeza Capital provides outsourced battery-swapping infrastructure for electric motorcycle companies and fleet operators in Uganda. The company owns and operates swap stations under revenue-sharing agreements, enabling OEMs to scale without the capital and operational burden of building energy infrastructure while ensuring riders have reliable and affordable battery access. Yongeza Capital runs an infrastructure-as-a-service model, managing station operations, uptime and data visibility across its network. The platform integrates OEM data, proprietary monitoring tools and network oversight to optimize performance and reliability. To date, Yongeza Capital operates over 45 swap stations supporting 3,000 daily swaps and is scaling its network as electric mobility adoption accelerates.
Pollen Patrollers is a women-led agritech startup in Kenya tackling Africa’s pollination crisis through a smart, technology-driven platform. Their first product is an end-to-end bee hive management through smart hives and field support. To date, they’ve served over 3,200 beekeepers who have seen improvements in hive health, reduced colony loss, and increased honey income by 33%.
From this network of beekeepers, they offer farmers growing pollination-dependent crops with timely and precise on-farm pollination services. By deploying healthy bee colonies to farms at critical fruiting stages, Pollen Patrollers boost crop yields by up to 50% for smallholder farmers growing avocado, coffee, and other high-value crops. With AI-powered hive monitoring and optimal hive placement insights, the platform improves agricultural productivity while safeguarding essential pollinators across East Africa.
Zuhura Solutions is a Kenyan social enterprise transforming the livelihoods of East Africa’s 1.2 million street food vendors by replacing charcoal-based cooking with clean, modern alternatives. Their flagship innovation – the Halisi Trolley – is a hybrid solar- and bio-ethanol-powered cooking trolley that improves hygiene, cuts fuel costs, and enables longer operating hours. Vendors using the trolleys have reported 80–100% income growth.
Zuhura’s solution not only empowers street vendors, it also reduces reliance on charcoal – curbing deforestation, air pollution, and carbon emissions – while ensuring safer food preparation in urban areas. Currently operating in Kenya, the company has deployed over 15 trolleys and is scaling production to meet growing demand across the region.
Over the last five years, Songa Mobility has developed the Songa Platform. It is a solar powered, IoT enabled, EV logistics platform that unlocks market access for smallholder farmers. It consists of a network of containerized charging/swapping hubs, refurbishable Li-ion batteries, a digital platform, and electric three-wheeled vehicles adapted to rural African livelihoods.
Songa Mobility also inclusively promotes rural livelihoods and boosts climate resilience and food security through job creation, technical training and farmer group capacity building. In 2024 alone, Songa’s vehicles completed 5,328 trips, transporting 1.3 million liters of milk, and raised farmer and driver incomes by 30–40% through its innovative business model and digital platform, which serve to optimize operations and utilization of e-mobility assets.
Instollar is a cfor efficient, high-quality solar solution installations across Nigeria. With over 2,500 installations completed, a growing network of 1300+ registered installers, and partnerships with leading solar developers and OEMs, boosting technician income by 25% and reducing company installation costs by 30–40%.
Instollar is driving scalable, tech-enabled execution of clean energy projects in underserved markets. The company is now expanding into East Africa and Francophone West Africa markets to scale its impact and support the continent’s transition to decentralized, reliable clean energy.
Mbay Mobility is a two-step emobility fintech accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption and financial inclusion in West and Central Africa. First step, Mbay enables unbanked taxi and commercial drivers to upgrade to modern EVs through a lease-to-own contract, immediately boosting their incomes by 50%, and tripling them once the EV is paid off after 3 years. Second step, Mbay Mobility helps these drivers use their EVs as collateral, to unlock further financial services, like microcredit and microinsurance, drastically improving the quality of life of them and their families.
Currently operating in Senegal, where it has sold 25 EVs – each cutting carbon emissions by about 8 tons per year, or 70% less than traditional taxis – Mbay Mobility is aiming to replicate its solution across Francophone West and Central Africa, for a total of 33,000 EVs deployed by 2033.
EnerGrow finances productive-use appliances for micro and small businesses across Uganda and Kenya , enabling them to purchase income-generating tools such as fridges, welding equipment, carpentry machines, and agro-processing technologies that require electricity to operate. By partnering with mini-grid developers and national utilities, EnerGrow stimulates energy demand while helping entrepreneurs increase their incomes by around 50%.
As electricity access expands but consumption remains low, their model strengthens the economics of electrification and utility growth, and with an added pivot to add clean cooking to the mix, this will allow them to leverage blended finance, carbon revenue, and results-based subsidies. EnerGrow’s integrated approach, combining SME finance with energy demand stimulation, is designed to scale sustainably across East Africa.
Mega Gas is a Kenya-based cleantech startup addressing two critical challenges – harmful cooking fuels and plastic waste – through a scalable circular-energy solution. The company uses a thermal cracking process to convert plastic waste into clean cooking gas that is 50% cheaper and 25% more energy-efficient than conventional LPG. This innovation enables low-income households and small businesses to access affordable, reliable, and safer cooking energy while significantly reducing exposure to indoor air pollution and harmful gases.
Currently, Mega Gas distributes its fuel through a community kitchen model and operates five community kitchens, serving more than 10,000 customers each month and recycling substantial volumes of plastic waste, primarily sourced from informal settlements. By replacing charcoal, firewood, and other polluting fuel alternatives with clean, low-cost gas, the company is improving public health, advancing climate action, and offering a cost-effective, high-impact pathway to circular, low-carbon energy access across Kenya.
The company has received grant funding and recognition from partners such as The World Resources Institute, Echoing Green, and Kenya Community Development Foundation.
Lake Farms is strengthening food security and climate resilience in Zambia by transforming the country’s fish supply chain. With over 12 million Zambians lacking access to affordable, high-quality fish and wild stocks under pressure from overfishing, Lake Farms operates a vertically integrated model that combines sustainable Nile Tilapia farming with clean-energy cold storage and last-mile logistics.
Lake Farms also works with fishing communities to supply solar lighting & refrigeration; cooling infrastructure cuts spoilage by 40%, while fair pricing and reliable distribution enable small-scale fishers and women traders to earn 30–40% higher incomes.
By supplying fresh and frozen products to both rural and urban markets, Lake Farms supports equitable access to nutritious food while helping protect Zambia’s aquatic ecosystems.
Farm Warehouse supports smallholder farmers in Nigeria with access to agricultural equipment and markets through solar-powered minigrid hubs. Their model helps microenterprises purchase tools that are typically unaffordable and reduce reliance on expensive diesel fuel. Farm Warehouse has worked with 1,600 microenterprises, lowering their energy costs by 70% compared to diesel.
ICE Solar provides affordable and reliable solar energy to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in Nigeria’s urban shopping complexes. Many businesses, such as salons, tailors, and food vendors, face unreliable grid access and high generator costs that limit productivity and income growth.
Partnering with landlords and market managers, ICE Solar installs centralized rooftop solar systems that power multiple shops at once. Smart metering tracks usage and enables flexible, utility billing packages, eliminating upfront costs for MSEs.
By reducing energy costs, cutting fossil-fuel dependence, and improving business reliability, ICE Solar supports resilient, cleaner, and more profitable urban enterprises across Nigeria.
