E3 Capital and 4DX Ventures have led an $8m seed funding round in Hohm Energy, a South African Climate Fintech company that helps homeowners and businesses to go solar with accredited solar installers, product suppliers, and embedded solar finance.

The funding marks the largest seed round for a tech startup in South Africa and attracted participation from new investors, including Breega, E4E Africa, TO.org, Tekton Ventures, Sunu Capital, Musha Ventures, and Climate Capital Ventures.

Vladimir Dugin, Senior Partner at E3 Capital added “We are thrilled to announce our inaugural investment in Hohm Energy. With its tech-driven approach, Hohm is at the forefront of South Africa’s green energy revolution. The team is uniquely positioned to create a “one-stop shop” for all green solutions for residential customers and address existing challenges around energy supply.”

Peter Orth, Managing Partner at 4DX, added: “We strongly believe in Hohm’s mission to drive rooftop solar adoption across South Africa and beyond, and have seen similar businesses thrive in a number of markets globally. We believe Hohm is best positioned to bring this solution to South Africa where it is sorely needed given the state of the electric grid, and are thrilled to be backing Tim and his team at this stage of their journey.”

Hohm Energy will now accelerate the adoption of rooftop solar in the region by investing in its new cutting-edge climate fintech strategy, additionally bolstering its tech, product innovation and solar installer skills development to make rooftop solar more accessible, trusted and affordable for everyone.

Launched in 2021 by Tim Ohlsen and Emir Gluhbegovic, Hohm Energy has revolutionised the entire end-to-end solar journey, having built its own proprietary software platform and marketplace that helps connect everyone in the value chain. 

The company leverages technology to tackle challenges in South Africa's $51.4bn complex rooftop solar market, streamlining the design, scheduling and procurement process for installers and enhancing accessibility for buyers, mitigating delays, installation flaws, compliance risks and financing obstacles.

Amidst a growing energy crisis, South Africa finds itself in the grip of escalating power shortages, resorting to daily electricity rationing to prevent a nationwide grid collapse. Eskom, the state-run power generator, has acknowledged a staggering power shortfall of over 6,000 megawatts at times. In addressing these challenges, Hohm Energy provides an alternative and sustainable energy source to the 7.7M addressable households, helping to ease the strain on the national grid. To-date Hohm Energy has generated over 17,000 custom solar rooftop designs using its solar proposal engine worth $190M, originating over $90M in finance applications to its retail banking partners.

For solar installers, Hohm Energy provides them with the opportunity to gain trust and also effectively design, manage, finance and procure their solar projects. Hohm Energy customers can have their properties' solar energy requirements determined digitally and effectively through the platform and they get access to credit financing and an order and fulfilment process that extends to after-sales services including repair and maintenance. 

Hohm Energy has struck partnerships with the majority of South Africa’s retail financial institutions, such as Investec, Nedbank, MFC, FNB, Wesbank and Capitec customers have access to the platform's finance and credit scoring process to secure structured financing from these institutions. 

Additionally, Hohm now offers a solar subscription service to South African households, powered by Glint, making solar more accesible then ever before with an all new and digital solar purchasing experience.

Following the investment, the company will also be launching the Hohm School program, designed to train and empower local solar installers, through the Hohm Energy Standard for Solar Systems Installations (HESSSI), across the country.

Tim Ohlsen, CEO of Hohm Energy, said: "The energy system in South Africa is broken. ClimateTech is key to solving the current challenges through the provision of a scalable and sustainable alternative. Our robust software platform and fintech marketplace, which enables us to offer value to all stakeholders, is pivotal in enhancing the efficiency of rooftop solar installations and ultimately mitigating the severity of load-shedding being experienced. We are honoured to be collaborating with renowned global investors who share our passion and vision and are helping us achieve our mission on a larger scale."