US-based off-grid solar system provider Angaza has raised $10.5m of series B capital from investors including Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce, TechCrunch reported on Monday.
The round was led by impact investment firm Emerson Collective, while Social Capital, Rethink Impact and Stanford-StartX fund, the vehicle co-founded by accelerator StartX and Stanford University, also took part.
Angaza offers pay-as-you-go functionality for off-grid solar systems in remote areas of developing nations, and serves about 2 million users across a total of 30 countries.
Users pay a small initial fee for a solar charging device and top up their account through a digital wallet on their phone, gradually paying for the system at the same time.
The company raised $1.5m in seed capital from unnamed backers in 2013, according to TechCrunch, and $4m in a 2015 series A round featuring Social Entrepreneurs Fund and undisclosed additional investors, though a regulatory filing puts the figure at $4.5m.
Angaza participated in StartX’s accelerator in 2014 and entered telecommunications company Orange’s accelerator, Orange Fab, the same year.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Ventures.