Amidst the challenges posed by Covid-19 we are happy to announce that we’ve just completed a convertible note round of funding. Investors include Schneider Electric, SADIF / MSP and Greenway Grid Global (A conglomerate of Tepco, Chubu Electric Power and ICMG partners). The investment supports us to continue building technology to deliver energy to the 900Million people without power.
This support comes at a pretty challenging time, so we express our gratitude to the funders for believing in our mission. The message from us to investors is pretty clear. Investment in off-grid energy empowers communities to increase income immediately – and with IoT and renewables, we can deliver energy at a lower cost than their income increases. In short – empowering communities can also be really profitable.
It’s been heartwarming to recently visit some of the communities that are connected to Okra. They have been able to access COVID-19 related information and education while schools are closed, store perishable products for longer in freezers, and be connected to reliable 24/7 power. But there are still 900 Million people who don’t have access to energy and we’re determined to make sure energy utilities are equipped to make that zero.
We forecast with business as usual around $250Bn USD will need to be invested in extending grid lines over the next decade to achieve 100% electricity access. With IoT based off-grid solutions, both the cost and speed to achieve this outcome can be halved.
We have recently released 2 new products: the Okra Edamame IoT Pod and the Okra Harvest software platform. Together, they enable energy utilities to rapidly energise off-grid communities using solar smart grids. We will use this additional funding to continue our expansion into key South-East Asian markets whilst prospecting pilot projects in Nigeria in Q4 of this year.
If any other investors are interested, please contact me – afnan@okrasolar.com and for more information on what we do please visit www.okrasolar.com
#PowerToThePeople.
Media Opportunities
If you would like to have a discussion with our team please let us know as we’d be happy to arrange the following:
- Interview with Afnan Hannan – CEO @ Okra
- Interview with Sovannara Pha – community activation manager @ Okra
- Interview with Ms Boung Sorom, customer using energy from an Okra microgrid in Cambodia.
Media Contacts
Marika Valier
Phone: +855 93 405 013 (Cambodia)
Email: marika@okrasolar.com
Afnan Hannan
Phone: +855 16 897 438 (Cambodia)
Email: afnan@okrasolar.com
Photos – credit to @migueljeronimophotography (Instagram)
Okra Community Activation, Sovannara Pha and CEO Afnan Hannan in the field testing the Okra Edamame Pod in a community in Cambodia.
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With schools closed and employment in the cities slowing down, Nhounh Sao is back in her rural community in Kampong Speu province. With access to mobile and internet her daughter spends time frequenting between learning on Youtube and watching funny videos on Tiktok.
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Boung Sorom who lives more than 10km away from the nearest electricity grid line says she wears a mask because she’s seen on Facebook that it helps keep her safe from covid-19.
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Nhounh Sao’s family didn’t have access to energy till about 12 months ago when a Cambodian company Pteah Baitong connected her family into an Okra solar microgrid.
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Overview of the Okra Software As A Service platform, enabling energy companies to manage thousands of households connected to energy access in remote communities. .
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Overview of the Okra Pod, an IoT device that’s enabling solar panels and batteries to be connected into distributed smart grids. The smart grids are managed by Okra’s software enabling low cost energy to be delivered to unelectrified communities. .
