Rinchi
TechInAfrica – The pay-as-you-go solutions company, Azuri Technologies, has secured $26 million from Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and other shareholders including IP Group plc. According to the company, the funds will be used to expand its growth plans in East and West Africa while at the same time identify new opportunities for the company.
In additions to the growth plans, Azuri Technologies explained that the funds will also be used to expand its solar lighting, TV, and other services into the new markets.
CEO of Azuri Technologies, Simon Bransfield-Garth said: “We are delighted today to announce the equity investment by Marubeni Corporation and existing shareholders. The entry of a leading player in the international energy market into this sector demonstrates the increasing maturity of off-grid power and its role in serving the 600 million people in Africa that still lack access to electricity.”
Speaking about Marubeni Corporation, the company is one of Japan’s largest trading companies with interests in energy, manufacturing, trading, and investment. In the solar energy business, the company has been investing for more than 20 years.
Azuri Technologies provides affordable pay-as-you-go solar home solutions to off-grid households in some African countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Speaking about its investment in Azuri Technologies, COO of Power Business Division at Marubeni Corporation, Yoshiaki Yokota said: “We believe that Azuri’s unique business model will have a profound impact on the growing off-grid energy market in Africa.”
Yoshiaki added, “The global energy market is evolving rapidly, with the introduction of new renewable technologies and energy -efficient devices. We are delighted to be a strategic partner of Azuri as a market leader and see their solar home solutions and services as catalysts for change in the Africa energy sector and beyond.”
Source: techtrendske.co.ke
