Rensource Energy secures $20 million to provide value-added services for SME

Rensource Energy—one of the leading renewable energy companies in Nigeria—has secured $20 million (N7.25 billion) in Series A round. The fresh funding will support the expansive growth of Rensource Energy and the roll out of its tech-enabled value-added services (VAS) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Series A round was co-led by CRE Venture Capital and Omidyar Network, both of whom are Andela investors and have in their portfolio a few Nigerian startups including Flutterwave, Gokada, CCHub, PrepClass and SafeBoda.

Other investors that participated in Rensource's Series A round include Inspired Evolution, Proparco, EDPR, I&P, Sin Capital and Yuzura Honda.

Founded in 2015, the new funding round brings the total fund raised by Rensource Energy to $23.7 million (N8.5 billion). This include a $1.1 million pre-seed funding, $2.1 million seed funding, and $579,000 debt financing.

With the $20 million raised, Rensource will be expanding its offering beyond energy to provide tech-enabled value-added services to SMEs. According to Ademola Adesina, CEO of Rensource Energy, venturing into Nigeria's nascent offline to online (O2O) space is a natural trajectory for the Lagos-based energy company.

The new Rensource B2B platform, "Spaces O2O", will enable business owners and merchants Rensource currently serve access services that will accelerate their productivity and growth.

We aim to connect over one million merchants in the next five years. Our push into O2O is a natural step that leverages our existing infrastructure to further empower the merchants we serve. We believe that simultaneously greening and decentralizing Nigeria's power infrastructure is the only way to navigate the country out of its current state of energy poverty.

According to Jonathan Kirschner, Senior Director of Investment Management at Omidyar Network, traditional retailers in Nigeria are desperately in need of the affordable and innovative energy solutions Rensource Energy is deploying.

With only 12 gigawatts of installed grid capacity and only one in four Nigerians connected to the national power grid, incessant power cut is hurting businesses in the country. In 2019 alone, the national grid has collapsed 11 times, which resulted in nationwide blackout.

According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Global Development, 57% of the startups surveyed consider the lack of electricity a "major" or "very severe" obstacle to their business, ahead of other challenges such as government red tape, taxes and corruption.

Through the delivery of renewable-based decentralized energy, Rensource Energy is bridging Nigeria’s power deficit. Rensource builds and operates solar hybrid micro-utilities—a type of energy services provider that localizes energy generation, distribution and customer service to each community it serves.

Operating in seven clusters across six states in Nigeria (Lagos, Kano, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Edo) and serving 30,000+ SMEs, Rensource Energy plans to expand into 100 markets over the next three years.

Rensource's goal is to offer solutions to the many challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria, starting with power and expanding to other value-added services. It is a bold and worthwhile undertaking that is creating value for all stakeholders. We are excited to continue this journey with the hyper-competent team at the helm

Last year, through a collaboration with the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency—saddled with the electrification of rural and unserved communities—Rensource developed a project in Sabon Gari Market in Kano that connected over 1,000+ merchant to Nigeria's first solar microutility. The project was part of the Energizing Economies Initiative.