Nithio FI

EDFI ElectriFI committed USD 5 million (EUR 4.10 million) in a funding round that will unlock up to USD 15m senior debt and help Nithio FI prove its concept. The company aims to provide innovative receivables backed financing solutions to companies providing energy access services to rural populations and support those companies in smartly deploying the capital to increase their impact in the most financially sustainable way. EDFI ElectriFI’s investment will catalyse senior lenders and will contribute to increasing the support of existing, well established SHS distributors as well as smaller local distributors in diverse markets.

Nithio FI distinguish itself from other financing facilities through their usage of data-driven predictive analyses. These analyses enable them to, on the one hand, accurately predict the payments and, therefore, the value of the existing portfolio of receivables. On the other hand, they offer a prospecting tool that can pinpoint the optimal regions for the operators to reinvest the proceeds they receive.

Project overview

ElectriFI contracted a EUR 1.5 million equity loan to create 31,000 new connections offering a sustainable, reliable source of energy to 155,000 beneficiaries. With the funding, the MyJouleBox plans to recruit 200 new staff. The company is specialised in the commercialisation, installation and maintenance of PV solutions in Benin. Since its inception in 2012, the company sold > 27,000 systems for total installed capacity of > 1.3 MWp. MyJouleBox is now looking at strengthening its market position in Benin and expanding into Burkina Faso and Togo.

Funding objective

EDFI ElectriFI’s funding to be part of the initial funding round that will unlock up to USD 15M senior debt and help the company prove its concept.

Investment rationale

EDFI ElectriFI’s investment will catalyse senior lenders and will contribute to increasing the support of existing, well established SHS distributors as well as
smaller local distributors in diverse markets. By combining accurate receivable valuation and sophisticated data science services, Nithio enables the SHS operators to get access to cheaper capital and to learn how to allocate it more efficiently compared to what would have been previously possible.

Read more:

• Nithio FI | ElectriFI
• Addressing universal energy access and increasing resilience to climate change through AI: the ElectriFI & Nithio collaboration | ElectriFI
• High Level Green Talk on Accelerating the EU-Africa Partnership for Green Energy Transition in Africa | ElectriFI
• Nithio – Unlocking investment for climate and clean energy