ImpactAlpha, September 23 – Kampala-based gnuGrid launched in 2019 as a data and payments intermediary for home solar providers and microgrid operators and their customers. The company uses sensors to help solar providers monitor and predict customer energy usage, and collects digital payments from customers.
GnuGrid raised seed funding of $612,500 from individual investors to apply its data capabilities to credit rating to unlock financing for low-income and rural Ugandans. It has become a Bank of Uganda-licensed credit reference bureau.
“gnuGrid has the system necessary to onboard the millions of unbanked/tier four consumers in Uganda – all of Africa, actually,” founder David Opio told Disrupt Africa.
Paying for solar
Nigerian fintech venture Infibranches Technologies secured $2 million from Shell-backed impact investor All On to help both small and large-scale solar providers collect digital payments.
Off-grid solar lender SunFunder offered a $4 million loan to Malawi’s Yellow for its pay-as-you-go and pay-per-use home solar systems.
