Electranova Capital US and Total Energy Ventures have invested an undisclosed amount in Off Grid Electric (OGE), a world leader solar leasing company in Africa.

Electranova Capital US is an energy cleantech venture capital fund, managed by Idinvest Partners, and sponsored by EDF, whereas Total Energy Ventures is the venture capital fund of French energy company Total that invests in start-ups to drive innovation.

Matthieu Bonamy, Investment Director at Electranova Capital, said “We are delighted to participate to OGE development. Africa is already experiencing of a technological leapfrog in the energy sector very similar to what has happened in the telecom sector.”

“The market has passed a tipping point and is expanding quickly. As of today, 1.5 billion people do not have access to grid electricity. The management team has a clear strategic vision and their operational capabilities are ready for a massive scale up. We are highly interested to explore potential valuable synergies between EDF and OGE,” he said.

Off Grid Electric delivers innovative stand-alone solar systems to a range of last-mile customers at costs lower than traditional kerosene lighting. Based in Arusha, Tanzania, and San Francisco, California, Off Grid Electric develops and markets distributed solar home systems and battery storage to power LED lights, mobile phone chargers and, optionally, small electronic appliances.

The company provides light to more than 10,000 new customers each month. Pierre Devillard, Principal of Electranova Capital, said: “The value proposition to customers is huge as OGE delivers, with no upfront investment, a complete service that goes much beyond electricity (TV, mobile phone charging).”

“The idea looks “simple” but delivering that properly required a full set of capabilities such as technical expertise, financial innovation and a deep understanding of the local market. OGE has those capabilities and is positioned for a rapid growth on this huge market,” he said. The funds will be used to enter new African countries, and to continue to scale up Off Grid Electric’s effort in partnership with the Tanzanian government to power 1 million homes by 2017.

“We are really excited to explore potential options to partner with leaders in the energy landscape like Electranova and EDF,” said Xavier Helgesen, co-founder and CEO of Off Grid Electric.

Electranova Capital is focused on accelerating the growth and scale of companies bringing new energy and environmental technologies to the market worldwide.

The fund, which is independently managed by Idinvest Partners, leverages the business partnerships, technical collaboration and sales references provided by its corporate sponsor to accelerate the growth of the invested companies.

In addition to OGE investment, Total has acquired an interest in Powerhive, which offers solar solutions for use in rural areas that are off-grid or have limited access to the grid in emerging markets, especially in Africa.

Based in San Francisco, California, Powerhive develops and operates solar microgrids with battery storage and local distribution.

The company supplies electricity to several hundred homes and businesses in off-grid rural communities. In 2015, it announced the launch of its first commercial-scale project for roughly 100 microgrids to supply 90,000 households in western Kenya.

Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, said: "Off Grid Electric and Powerhive’s systems combine solar power, energy storage and digital customer relationship management, paving the way for distributed energy management models."

"Their systems are expected to speed up electrification in Africa and could be as much a game changer as mobile phones were in their field,” he added.