Portugal’s state-owned power provider, EDP has agreed to acquire a minority stake in SolarWorks, a Mozambique-based start-up specializing in the commercialization of decentralized solar energy solutions to domestic and business customers without connection to national grid.
The €2 million investment was made by the group’s renewable energy unit, EDP Renováveis in conjuction with U.S. venture capital firm, Persistent Energy Capital LLC
“The investment will stimulate the international expansion of SolarWorks in Southern Africa, where it has operated a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) business since 2016,” EDP said. According to the utility, SolarWorks currently has 180 employees in Mozambique and is now in the process of expanding activities in Malawi.
“This investment by EDP marks the start of the new strategy defined for the A2E area, in which it has committed to apply 12 million euros over the next three years with the objective of impacting 200 thousand people, mainly in developing countries,” the company continued.
EDP’s A2E (Access to Energy) initiative aims to provide access to energy based on renewable energy solutions, mainly solar energy, to deprived communities across the world.
This new off-grid investment follows a similar one made only two days ago, when the company agreed to invest €500,000 in Solshare, a start-up providing off-grid home solar solutions in Bangladesh. Both transactions are part of the group’s new strategy to expand its renewable energy business, so far mainly focused on wind, to storage, solar and hybrid wind-solar projects.
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