A Woman: Led Startup in Zambia – WidEnergy Hoists Fresh Appropriation to Scale its Impact

By Abdul Rahman Bangura– 

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone-  Zambian startup WidEnergy – a woman-led for-profit social investment, has committed to female grant and the growth of affordable energy access, has boosted a new round of funding to nurture scale its impact. WidEnergy, is an acronym for “Women in Development,” reflecting the startup’s goal of committing women as effective players in Africa’s energy evolution, leverages a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) criterion to give solarpowered homes and appliances.

The startup toils with female sales agents to disseminate renewable energy solutions across Zambia, focusing on core aptitudes in lending and diffusion to develop a high-quality lending portfolio with minimized insolvency hazards.
WidEnergy secured an undisclosed amount of funding from the Germany-based GreenTec Capital in July of 2019 to improve its operations, and has since illustrated strong traction – almost doubling its customer base in 2019. It has now secured further investment from ShEquity, a newly-launched investment automobile that concentrates on delivering smart and sustainable investments for African female entrepreneurs and innovators.

“We are committed to improving the lives of the many people living without reliable electricity and energy. More especially during the current COVID-19 days. With a business as capital intensive demanding as ours, “who supports you” along the way, determines how you thrive,” stated Liliane Munezero Ndabaneze, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of WidEnergy Africa.

“We are confident that the timely ShEquity investment in WidEnergy will enable us to navigate through these uncertain times and that we will together flourish and reach greater heights. We are excited at the possibilities this partnership presents.”

Pauline Koelbl, ShEquity Founder and Managing Director, noted she was pleased to invest in WidEnergy.

“The impact of having access to electricity is widely known: for instance, having access to electricity improves education by increasing study time by 50 per cent. WidEnergy has demonstrated how access to green energy has a positive impact on health, education and overall families’ livelihoods. We look forward to working together with
WidEnergy team to multiply its impact on many African lives, especially women and girls,” she asserted.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent

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