Hohm Energya South African climate Fintech company helping homeowners and businesses go solar with accredited solar installers, product suppliers and embedded solar financing, has announced the successful final close of The $8M Seed Round.
The funding marks the largest seed round for a tech startup in South Africa at a total of $8 million, led by E3 Chapter and 4DX Ventures and attracted the participation of new investors including Brega, E4E Africa, TO.org, Tekton Ventures, Sunu Capital, Musha Venturesand Climate Capital Ventures.
Driving The News
Hohm Energy will accelerate the adoption of rooftop solar in the region by investing in its new cutting-edge climate Fintech strategy, further enhancing technology, product innovation and solar installation skills development to make rooftop solar more affordable, reliable and accessible to all.
About the company
Started in 2021 from Tim Olsen and Emir GlubegovicHohm Energy has revolutionized the entire end-to-end solar journey by building its own proprietary software platform and marketplace that helps connect everyone in the value chain.
The company is leveraging technology to address challenges in South Africa complex $51.4 billion rooftop solar market; streamlining the design, planning and procurement process for installers and enhancing accessibility for buyers, mitigating delays, installation defects, compliance risks and financial barriers.
Because this matters
Between a growing energy crisis, South Africa is in the grip of escalating power shortages, resorting to daily power distribution to prevent a nationwide grid collapse. Eskom, the state-owned power company, has recognized a surprising power shortfall of over 6,000 megawatts at times.
To address these challenges, Hohm Energy provides an alternative and sustainable source of energy to 7.7 million addressable householdshelping to reduce pressure on the national grid.
By The Numbers
To date Hohm Energy has created over 17,000 custom solar roof designs using the $190 million solar proposal engine, originating over $90 million in financing applications to retail banking partners.
Zoom out
Hohm Energy has partnerships with the majority of South African retail financial institutions such as Investec, Nedbank, MFC, FNB, Wesbank and Capitec clients have access to the platform’s financing and credit assessment process to secure structured financing from these institutions.
In addition, Hohm now offers a solar subscription service to South African households, powered by Shinemaking solar more affordable than ever with a completely new and digital solar shopping experience.
What they say
Speaking of investment, Tim Olsensaid the CEO of Hohm Energy βThe energy system in South Africa is broken. ClimateTech is the key to solving current challenges by providing a scalable and sustainable alternative. Our robust software platform and fintech marketplace, which enables us to deliver value to all stakeholders, is instrumental in improving the efficiency of rooftop solar and ultimately mitigating the severity of load shedding. We are honored to partner with established global investors who share our passion and vision and help us achieve our mission on a larger scale‘.
Vladimir DuginSenior Partner at E3 Capital added “We are excited to announce our inaugural investment in Hohm Energy. With its technology-driven approach, Hohm is at the forefront of South Africa’s green energy revolution. The team is uniquely placed to create a ‘one stop shop’ for all green solutions for residential customers and address existing energy supply challenges.β
Peter Orthadded Managing Partner at 4DX, “We strongly believe in Hohm’s mission to drive the adoption of rooftop solar in South Africa and beyond, and have seen similar businesses thrive in many markets worldwide. We believe Hohm is best placed to bring this solution to South Africa, where it is sorely needed given the state of the electricity grid, and we are excited to support Tim and his team at this stage of their journey“.
Following the investment, the company will also launch the Hohm School program, designed to train and empower local solar installers, through the Hohm Energy Standard for Solar Systems Installations (HESSSI), across the country.
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