Nigerian Tech Startup Acquires $2.325 Million In Seed Funding

A Nigerian clean tech startup, SunFi has acquired $2.325 million in seed funding to help it connect consumers and companies who want access to solar energy with payment plans that suit their needs.

The self-described energy finance tech platform has attracted funding from participating investors including Voltron Capital, Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Ventures Platform, and Sovereign Capital in addition to lead investors Factor[e] and SCM Capital Asset Management, both of Nairobi.

CEO Rotimi Thomas of SunFi stated that the investment will aid SunFi in expanding operations and enhancing its capacity to advise clients on the best systems at the most affordable prices.

Thomas is the co-founder of Aspire, a solar installation business, in 2018 using the renewable energy skills he learned in college and his experience working on energy, gas, and electricity projects in Nigeria and other African nations, including a five-year tenure at Siemens as head of market development.

Although this company changed into SunFi three years later, Thomas had envisioned starting his lifelong quest to address the power problems people and businesses confront in Nigeria when he launched Aspire, he stated.

With this funding, the cleantech company with financial elements plans to improve its platform over the next 12 to 18 months.

As the 29-person team expands, it also plans to convert more than 4,000 clients within that same time frame.

To move that money through the system and pay for all the demands placed on the energy platform this year, the clean tech is in discussions to borrow more third-party funding, most likely in the form of debt, from commercial banks and other financing partners.

“SunFi has the ability to transform the way clean energy is accessed by households and businesses across Nigeria by creating a marketplace of clean energy products combined with flexible payment options — all of which are personalized to the customer’s financial and energy needs,” said Lyndsay Holley-Handler, partner and chief venture builder at Factor[e] on the investment.

“Platforms like these have unlocked access to clean energy in other markets but don’t yet exist in Africa.

"This type of innovation and disruption is why we decided to be part of SunFi’s journey…”