upOwa designs and runs smart solar systems that provide electricity to off-grid communities in Africa. These systems can be used to power lights and phones.
Its pay-as-you-go model is flexible, so customers can make payments ahead of time or when their income changes. In addition to selling solar panels, the company offers emergency alarms and wireless internet access in remote areas through services that are built into solar kits.
It’s a company that makes solar home systems for areas in Africa that don’t have access to the grid and need clean power. Switching to the company’s solutions, which are safer and cleaner than candlelight and kerosene, can help the local economy and give people more freedom.
upOwa is also a social business that is growing. It helps make big social and economic changes in communities in a way that is sustainable because it makes money and does things that are good for the environment. upOwa creates, deploys, and takes care of new ways to bring clean electricity to off-grid African communities at affordable prices.
If electricity is brought to a place that didn’t have it before, it could help the economy in many ways. With a fully charged phone, it’s easy to talk to other people. Businesses can stay open later because of lighting, which is good for both customers and employees. Having power at home brings in new money and creates indirect jobs. This is on top of the education and work opportunities that upOwa offers.
The addition of electricity to the home makes life better for everyone in many ways. Kids might do better in school if they stay up late to study. Keeping away from dangerous gasses is good for your health and no more respiratory problems and reduced strain on the eyes. A well-lit home is safer because it keeps away people and animals who might try to break in. Radios make it easier for people to share information.
If customers switch to renewable energy, the environment around them will get better. When upOwa’s products are used instead of fossil fuels that would have been burned in light bulbs or diesel generators, a lot less carbon dioxide is released into the air.
Additionally, the Pay-as-you-go solar home systems from upOwa are a cheap way for off-grid, low-income homes to get clean energy for lighting, charging phones, and running other small appliances.
How it Works
They make it easy for people to use power from renewable sources by putting solar panels on homes for people in Cameroon who can’t get power from the national grid.
Payments are spread out over 18–36 months and are made in small amounts each month for their client’s convenience.
Experts make sure that solar power works because each and every upOwa product is tested for a long time. All installations are checked by trained technicians so that Customers of UpOwa have access to a dedicated call center where they can get help with any problems they might be having.
“pay-as-you-go” has made it possible for more people to use solar power. PAYG is a payment plan in which the full cost of a home solar energy system is paid for over time in different ways. Each payment is about the same as how much kerosene would cost to light a home for a month.
Solar makes it possible to have power that won’t run out because even after the 18-month warranty on their solar home systems runs out, they will still keep on giving off light for many more years. Also, unlike candles and kerosene lamps, the energy generated does not pose a health risk to the client.
Founders
Killien de Renty
Killien de Renty is the CEO and co-founder at upOwa.
Caroline Frontigny
Caroline Frontigny is the Cofounder at upOwa.
Investors & Funding Rounds
Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), Colam Impact, Persistent Energy Capital, INCO, Gaia Impact
upOwa has successfully raised EUR2.5 million (about $2.77 million) in a Series A2 funding round.
Since it started, the company has grown quickly, and it has been able to get the money it needs to keep growing and offer more solar power options to homes in Cameroon that aren’t connected to the grid.
Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) and French family office Colam Impact led the EUR2.5 million (US$2.77 million) investment. The UK government helped with the investment.
LITA.co, which is based in Paris, is helping to make it easier for more crowd-funded equity raising. Persistent, INCO, and Gaia Impact, which were already investors, turned their loans into equity and joined the Series A2 round.
The money will help upOwa grow quickly in the Cameroonian market. The company has expanded its product line to include high-end items that can do more good than basic appliances. It also offers clean, reliable, and affordable ways for low-income off-grid families to get electricity.
Main Competitors
Ygrene Energy Fund: It offers money to local governments so that businesses and homes can make clean energy improvements.
Dcbel: Solar-powered cars, homes, and ways of life are now possible because of dcbel’s AI-driven sustainable solutions. This shows how committed the company is to a greener future.
Fervo Energy: It has made its own patented clean energy technology so that upgraded geothermal systems can be used to make electricity.
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