Koolboks, the Nigeria and France-based cleantech company that makes solar-powered freezers, has secured $11 million in Series A financing to accelerate growth across Africa and build its first local assembly plant in Nigeria. The round was co-led by KawiSafi Ventures, Aruwa Capital and All On. Debt came from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and Bpifrance, with additional grants and results-based financing from FFEM/AFD, PREO, Efficiency for Access, Innovate UK, BGFA Uganda, CEI Africa and the Shell Foundation.
What the funding enables
Koolboks plans to establish a Nigerian assembly plant within 12–18 months. The company expects local assembly to trim logistics and import costs and translate into a 15–20% price reduction for end-users. The raise will also support expansion of Koolboks’ financing arm (Koolbuy) and its Scrap4New trade-in programme, which refurbishes or recycles old units to cut e-waste and widen access.
Product and model
Koolboks’ off-grid refrigerators pair solar generation with an ice-battery for thermal storage, enabling units to keep contents cold for up to four days without external power. Embedded IoT telemetry allows remote monitoring of temperature, energy use and payments. Customers can buy outright or via pay-as-you-go plans. Typical monthly instalments start around $10–$20, according to company materials.
Traction to date
Founded in 2018 by Ayoola Dominic (CEO) and Deborah Gaël (COO), Koolboks says it has deployed more than 10,000 solar freezers across 25 countries. Nigeria is the largest market by revenue, followed by Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Alongside hardware sales, the firm is building a data-driven services platform around device connectivity and customer financing.
Why this matters
Cooling is now an essential service for food security, livelihoods and public health. SEforALL’s latest Chilling Prospects analysis highlights over one billion people globally at high risk from lack of access to adequate cooling, with hundreds of millions in Africa facing elevated risk. Affordable, efficient, off-grid solutions(combined with consumer finance) are central to closing that gap.
Final Thoughts
Koolboks is targeting scale by combining locally assembled hardware, digital payments and circular-economy initiatives (refurbishment and recycling). The company notes that regulatory and financing hurdles have slowed entry into some markets, including Kenya and parts of Central Africa, but it aims to deepen penetration in its strongest geographies while the Nigerian assembly plant comes online.
