Powerhive Closes US$9.3M Series B Funding

PowerhivePowerhive, a Berkeley, CA-based energy solutions and technology provider for emerging markets, closed an US$9.3m Series B round of funding.

Backers included Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho), a general trading company and a member of Toyota Group, Kouros, To:org, as well as existing investors Tao Capital, James Sandler, Prelude Ventures, Caterpillar Ventures, and Total Energy Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to grow with plans to reach 20,000 connections in Kenya.

Founded in 2011 and led by CEO Christopher Hornor, Powerhive leverages a proprietary technology platform to develop and operate portfolios of renewable microgrids that supply affordable, reliable and productive electricity to off-grid communities in emerging markets.
The company, which has a 25 years license to operate in Kenya as as the country’s first private utility, aims to serve 100,000 people across 20,000 households by early 2020.
The company, which has subsidiaries in Kenya, will leverage Toyota Tsusho’s expertise and footprint in Africa to seek collaboration opportunities in new markets in Africa, as well as in ancillary products and services (i.e. electrical mobility products and services, reused batteries, agricultural and industrial materials) to grow with the communities it already serves.

FinSMEs

09/07/2019

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