Kofa secures Sh1 billion in Pre-Series A funding round to expand energy access in urban Africa

Kofa, leading technology-driven energy company and end-to-end ecosystem enabler, has closed an $8.1 million (Ksh 1.047 billion) pre-Series A funding round.

This investment, comprising $3.25 million (Ksh 419.856 million) in equity, $4.315 million (Ksh 557.929 million) in debt, and $590,000 (Ksh 76.287 million) in grants, will fuel the company’s expansion and supercharge its AI-powered battery-swapping network, delivering reliable, clean energy solutions to urban Africa, starting in Ghana and Kenya.

The round was co-led by E3 Capital, one of Africa’s largest early-stage climate-tech venture capital funds, and Injaro Investment Advisors, a Ghanaian private capital fund manager – both providing equity. Shell Foundation contributed to the raise through catalytic debt and grant, co-funded with the UK government through its Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform.

The fund also features backing from high-profile European angel investors in the battery industry, including Richard Thwaites, founder of Penso Power, one of Europe’s leading grid scale battery businesses, acquired by BW Group in Oct 2024, who brings strategic insights into the battery sector.

This funding round will accelerate Kofa’s expansion into three major cities across West and East Africa. It will also fast-track the development of its proprietary AI-driven battery management platform, a game-changing differentiator crucial for optimising and scaling its network to efficiently manage millions of batteries.

Leveraging its cutting-edge technology and proprietary Internet of Things (IoT) system – which tracks battery usage, predicts demand, and optimizes energy distribution – Kofa now facilitates over 200 battery swaps daily, achieving a 99% charge rate with an average swap time of under two minutes; saving time, reducing fuel costs, and keeping businesses running reliably.

Erik Nygard CEO and Founder of Kofa said, “This funding validates our vision to transform urban Africa’s energy landscape; and we are committed to building the ecosystem necessary to make this a reality. The shift to cleaner energy, for both domestic and commercial use, goes beyond sustainability –   it drives real economic impact but for this transition to succeed, several key elements must come together”.

He added; “This includes scaling local manufacturing and assembly with international partners, expanding a robust battery and swap station network, securing financial backing from investors, and deploying AI-driven technology to optimize the entire system. Closing this round is a major step forward in accelerating our vision, particularly as Ghana and the wider African region prioritise clean energy solutions. With the right ecosystem in place, greener alternatives will not only be viable but also the most cost-effective and logical choice for the future.”

Kofa designs market-specific products and licenses its intellectual property to key industry players. This is exemplified through its partnership with TailG, a global OEM, to mass-produce Kofa’s electric motorcycle design – developed with direct user input, making it one of the first fully bottom-up electric motorcycle designs for Africa.

Andrew Darge, E3 Capital’s lead on the transaction, commented: “In investing in Africa for over a decade, we have seen firsthand the evolution of Africa’s distributed renewable energy sector – and in particular the rise of electric mobility and battery technologies.”