Koolboks: Revolutionizing Cold Storage in Africa
The scorching African sun can be a double-edged sword, blessing harvests with abundance but mercilessly robbing them of shelf life. In many towns and villages across the continent, the simple act of keeping food fresh is a daily struggle, exacerbated by the lack of electricity and cold storage facilities.
Enter Koolboks, a cleantech startup founded by Ayoola Dominic and Deborah Gaël, with roots in both Nigeria and France. Their mission? To make affordable cold storage accessible to businesses across Africa. Recently, Koolboks announced a major milestone – securing $11 million in Series A funding, a mix of equity, debt, and grants, to propel their vision forward and establish their first assembly plant in Nigeria.
The funding round was led by prominent investors like KawiSafi Ventures, Aruwa Capital, and All On, with additional support from organizations like FFEM, bpifrance, and the Shell Foundation. This marks a significant step for Koolboks, building on their earlier success of raising $3.5 million back in 2022, bringing their total funding to approximately $18 million.
Koolboks’ journey began in 2018 in Paris, initially as a concept for a camping refrigerator for outdoor enthusiasts in Europe. However, by 2020, the founders shifted their focus to Africa’s informal economy, where the need for reliable refrigeration was critical for small businesses’ survival. They reimagined the traditional refrigerator as a solar-powered box with an internal battery, designed to operate even in the absence of constant power supply.
Today, Koolboks operates in 28 countries, with over 10,000 units deployed in Nigeria alone. Their innovative pay-as-you-go model allows businesses to access refrigeration services for a monthly fee, making it affordable and accessible to a broader audience.
With the new funding, Koolboks plans to set up an assembly plant in Nigeria, capable of producing 72,000 refrigerators annually. This move aims to reduce import costs, enabling the company to pass on savings to customers with up to 20% price cuts. Additionally, the plant is expected to create 450 jobs, further contributing to the local economy.
Innovative initiatives like Koolbuy and Scrap4New will also be fueled by the new funding, offering customers opportunities to upgrade their existing refrigerators to solar-powered models and incentivizing the recycling of old appliances.
Despite facing challenges in building a climate-tech product from scratch, Koolboks has demonstrated resilience and adaptability. The company’s founder, Ayoola, emphasizes the importance of staying focused, delivering on promises, and aligning with investors who share their long-term vision.
Looking ahead, Koolboks is exploring the potential of monetizing carbon savings to make their products even more affordable for African households and businesses. By harnessing the power of the sun and leveraging carbon credits, Koolboks aims to revolutionize cold storage in Africa, paving the way for a more sustainable and prosperous future.
