Persistent Energy Secures $10m Equity Round to Scale its Clean-tech Venture Building in Africa
Persistent Energy announced a $10 million equity round led by Kyuden International Corporation, a subsidiary of the Japanese Kyushu Electric Power Group, and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa Investments to grow its clean-tech venture building business in Africa.
Persistent’s Series C Preferred Units were used in the round, giving Series C investors a seat on the Board of Directors. Kyuden International Corporation (Kyuden), the largest investor in this Series C round, is the overseas business arm of the Japanese Kyushu Electric Power Group. Kyuden has energy investment and consulting activities all over the world, and it shares a strong commitment to renewable energy and building sustainable communities with Persistent.
Kyuden’s investment is a strategic move to expand their overseas business with an established partner in Africa, where demand for clean energy and electric mobility is rapidly increasing. Persistent will benefit from the expertise, know-how, and network accumulated by Kyuden’s domestic and international energy businesses around the world.
Six new private investors joined the round, along with high-net-worth individuals and business tycoons such as Kotaro Tamura and existing investors such as BK Ventures BV and DPI Energy Ventures Pte. Limited.
Persistent Energy, an expert, and investor in Africa’s renewable energy sector assist startups in developing businesses that can “scale sustainably” from the ideation to the early growth stage. It accomplishes this by investing capital and human resources, and its team members join and collaborate with portfolio company management teams. Persistent has 20 Sub-Saharan African partner companies spread across 17 countries. To date, the company has had two successful exits.
“Many more companies need to be started and built-in to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the next ten years,” says Tobias Ruckstuhl, managing partner of Persistent. Kyuden and FSDAi are dedicated to our model of entrepreneurial climate venture building.”
“By leveraging these powerful partnerships, we will be able to accelerate our most pioneering venture building investments, driving the transition to clean energy, promoting e-mobility, and finding innovative business models and technological developments across the continent,” he said.
Persistent portfolio companies are either in the business of solar home systems, commercial and industrial solar solutions, e-mobility solutions, or ecosystem development.
Solar Works, a decade-old company in Africa, offers a wide range of solar products, including Solar Homes Systems, its key offering that powers homes in Southern Africa. Solar Taxi, a Ghana-based e-mobility startup, was also recently added to its portfolio. Solar taxi creates, assembles, and distributes two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles for transportation and delivery.
Its portfolio companies include Oolu, BBOX, Rensource, Upowa, Altech, Ecoenergy, Candi, ecobodaa, Asobo, and hohm energy, an ecosystem builder.
Anne-Marie Chidzero, CIO, FSD Africa Investments said, ”We are delighted to support Persistent as it expands its innovative climate venture building model. We look forward to working with the Persistent team to accelerate the investment needed by African entrepreneurs in the nascent and fast-growing climate sectors. The combination of Persistent’s capabilities and approach, together with FSDAi’s expertise, patient capital and focus on green finance represents a very strong proposition in areas where innovation and early-stage equity capital are highly needed.”