Hohm Energy secures $8M to solve South Africa’s load shedding

Hohm Energy, a South African solar energy startup, has secured $8 million in funding to expand its rooftop solar installation product. This funding is the largest seed round ever raised by a South African tech startup and was led by E3 Capital and 4DX Ventures.

Founded in 2021 by Tim Ohlsen and Emir Gluhbegovic, Hohm Energy offers two main services. First, it provides customers with a digital tool to determine their solar energy requirements. Second, it allows customers to access credit financing for rooftop solar installation. The platform also provides solar installers with tools to design, manage, finance and procure solar projects.

Hohm Energy reports having generated over 17,000 custom solar rooftop designs worth $190M and $90M in financing applications for the implementation of these designs. To facilitate financing, Hohm Energy has partnered with several South African finance institutions for customers to secure structured financing.

Through these partnerships, Hohm customers can use the platform’s finance and credit scoring to apply for financing. Tim Ohlsen said, “We realized that although there is an appetite for solar energy in SA, sometimes financing is a hurdle. The fintech aspect of our platform will help to drive even more rooftop solar installations.”

The company plans to use the funding to scale its product offerings, including its tech, product innovation, and solar installer skills development. Hohm Energy aims to facilitate rooftop solar installations for 7.7 million homes in South Africa and expects to become profitable by the end of the year.

Also read: Teraco to build $106M solar plant to address South Africa’s power problems.