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Koolboks Closes $2.5M Seed Round to Scale Solar Refrigeration Across Africa

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Koolboks, the sustainable cooling company providing accessible cold storage solutions to businesses across Africa, has closed a $2.5M Seed funding round, led by Aruwa Capital Management and with participation from Acumen, Blue Earth Capital, All On, GSMA and other investors.

This brings the company’s total investment to-date to $3.5M. Koolboks will deploy the capital to scale its expansion across Nigeria, including building its team to support its growing B2C business and construction of a local assembly facility in the country. The company also opened an affiliate office in Kenya in July, 2022.

Founded in 2018 in France, Koolboks, combines Africa’s abundant supply of the sun with water to create a solution that is able to generate refrigeration for up to four days in the absence of power and sunlight.

Through efficiently harnessing natural resources, Koolboks has made it affordable to access continuous refrigeration by integrating a  pay-as-you-go technology that enables individuals and small businesses to pay as low as 10 dollars a month to own an offgrid  solar refrigerator.

The Koolboks unit works as a refrigerator, freezer, or lighting for households and shops. It also comes with 2 LED lighting bulbs and USB ports for charging mobile phones – making the product invaluable to users in off-grid areas. Koolboks currently sells across 16 countries, 13 of them in sub-Saharan Africa*.

Koolboks hopes to help reduce food waste and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions drastically.

The company’s ice thermal refrigeration technology reduces CO2 emissions, displacing the use of diesel, and by incorporating R600a, an environmentally friendly refrigerant.

The off-grid refrigeration market is worth $4.4 billion, and is growing at a rate of 7%, according to the Efficiency for Access Coalition. With 770 million people across SSA lacking proper access to electricity, and only 17% having access to refrigeration, Koolboks is striving to close the gap in equitable access to clean, readily available energy.

Commenting on the opportunity to empower more small businesses with access to affordable cold storage solutions, Ayoola Dominic, CEO of Kooboks said, “Poor energy access, high costs of buying and running generators, and the relatively high cost of cooling prevent many African businesses and households from accessing refrigeration when it’s most critically needed.

“We believe that people can make their livelihoods and feed their families by relying on energy from natural resources – energy from the sun, wind and water that are abundant around us. It’s a win for the people, a win for us, a win for our investors and a win for the planet.

“We are excited to work with some of the world’s leading impact investors as we focus on empowering many more users across more countries in Africa and globally. Importantly for us, we are also appreciative to partner with local impact investors such as Aruwa Capital Management, who understand the demand and market dynamics, having operated across the continent for many years; their experience and network will be invaluable to us as we scale.”

Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder at Aruwa Capital Management added, “We have been impressed with Koolboks’s innovative solution which goes far beyond food waste reduction – the team’s laser focus on ensuring clean renewable energy in off-grid areas is crucial to the survival of many small businesses and sectors as well as fostering economic gender equality.

“Equitable access to clean and reliable energy is key to closing the gender economic gap across rural areas and we are excited to see Koolboks’ expansion continue to make economic equity a reality for millions more women across Africa.”

Millions of people in Africa and other emerging markets experience unreliable power access daily with the national power grid supply being erratic and inconsistent to both rural and urban households and businesses.

For some, it is often difficult to conduct and operate activities to earn a living with most turning to small-scale, toxic diesel-fueled generators to provide electricity. Koolboks is striving to enable nations to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 7 and empower businesses across a range of sectors including healthcare, food, hospitality and medicine with its innovative cold storage solutions.


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Cellulant Taps Freddie Oduro to Lead Enterprise Payments Expansion in Ghana

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Mr. Freddie Oduro, New Country Manager for Ghana.
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Cellulant, a leading Pan-African payments company enabling seamless digital transactions across Africa, has appointed Mr. Freddie Oduro as its new Country Manager for Ghana.

Cellulant Taps Freddie Oduro to Lead Enterprise Payments Expansion in Ghana

Mr. Freddie Oduro, New Country Manager for Ghana.

Freddie’s appointment is a key step in Cellulant’s broader strategy to deepen its presence in priority markets by accelerating the acquisition of in-country enterprise businesses and strengthening its position as the payments partner of choice in Africa.

Freddie brings over a decade of commercial and strategic leadership experience in the telecommunications and financial services sectors, with expertise in  sales, business operations, and market expansion.

In his new role, he will drive merchant acquisition, strengthening partnerships, oversee collections and payout operations, while ensuring strong internal controls and regulatory compliance.

He joins Cellulant from Payaza and previously served as Sales Director at Cellulant, where he helped significantly expand the company’s footprint in Ghana.

Cellulant has been powering payments in Ghana for leading brands in sectors like e-commerce, utilities, oil and gas and retail, helping them offer their customers a wide range of secure digital payment options.

“We are happy to welcome Freddie back to the Cellulant family,” says Richard Gesimba, Chief Revenue Officer at Cellulant. “Ghana remains a critical market for us, with immense potential driven by rising digital payments adoption.

“As we sharpen our focus on in-country enterprise customers, Freddie’s leadership and industry insight make him the ideal person to steer our Ghana operations.”

The appointment comes at a transformative time for the company. Following a strategic shift between late 2023 and early 2024, focused on streamlining operations, doubling down on enterprise payments, and strengthening customer intimacy, Cellulant achieved profitability in 2024 and continues to build on this momentum.

The company now processes close to 4.5 million transactions daily for businesses across Africa, reinforcing its position as a fintech leader.

“I am honoured to return to Cellulant and lead the Ghana team at such a defining moment,” says Freddie, Country Manager for Cellulant Ghana. “Ghana presents a tremendous opportunity.

“We will ramp up our efforts to sign on more local merchants, strengthen our compliance and control frameworks, and introduce innovative solutions like Tingg Edupay, our automated school fee management solution that eliminates reconciliation delays by validating payments in real time and instantly updating student accounts.

“We will build on Cellulant’s strong foundation to deliver real value, reliability, and economic impact.”

Ghana’s digital payments sector continues to grow steadily, supported by increased mobile money usage and a progressive regulatory environment. Between January and October 2025, the value of mobile money transactions hit about GH¢ 3.6 trillion, up sharply from GH¢ 2.37 trillion in the same period of 2024.

Registered mobile money accounts now exceed 79 million, demonstrating strong consumer and business confidence in digital financial services and in turn creating many opportunities for payment innovation.

This leadership appointment underscores Cellulant’s commitment to building a resilient, high-performance organisation geared towards playing a pivotal role in the next era of Africa’s digital economy.

Looking ahead to 2026, Cellulant plans to further enhance the user experience on its payment platform, Tingg, and expand its  footprint across Ghana.


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Top Nigerian Startups Secure Funding Boost @ iHatch Demo Day Awards

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Nigeria’s startup ecosystem received a fresh injection of momentum as top emerging ventures secured funding and investor attention at the iHatch National Demo Day, where Interface Africa clinched the highest prize of $15,000.

The 4th cohort of the NITDA–JICA-backed accelerator brought together founders, policymakers, and venture stakeholders in Abuja, showcasing innovations ranging from clean-energy financing and digital food marketplaces to next-gen fintech tools.

The startups went rounds of running through state-level selections and regional competition. iHatch was established in 2021 as a strategic partnership to create an enabling environment for young Nigerians to develop and scale their innovative solutions.

The iHatch National Demo Day (4th Cohort), is an initiative by NITDA and JICA which provides a clear pathway for homegrown talent to contribute significantly to economic diversification and digital transformation.

After rigorous selection processes, the top founders converged to pitch their innovations, recognised the standout performers, which are:

Interface Africa with $15,000, the firm is driving Nigeria’s clean energy transition by enabling structured and affordable solar financing.

Ahioma with $12,000, the firm enhances food accessibility with a digital marketplace connecting consumers directly to trusted vendors.

Linia Finance with $10,000, the firm is helping Nigerians take control of their finances with tools for budgeting, tracking, and smart money planning.

Chapta got a laptop reward. They delivering an offline-capable school application ensuring consistent, accessible learning for students everywhere.

Softdrop also got a laptop reward, they solve logistics challenges through a modern delivery platform designed for speed, convenience, and efficiency.

 


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Fidelity Bank to Host Virtual Masterclass on New Tax Law

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Fidelity Bank Plc, a leading financial institution, will host a free virtual training on the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 (NTA) as part of its commitment to helping small businesses prepare for the upcoming legislation.

Fidelity Bank to Host Virtual Masterclass on New Tax Law

Fidelity Bank

The masterclass is scheduled for 10:00 AM (Nigerian time) on Friday, 12 December 2025. It will provide participants with clear insights into changes in the tax framework, the impact on income and business operations, and practical steps to avoid penalties in 2026.

Attendees will also learn strategies to stay ahead in an evolving regulatory environment.

The Nigerian government enacted major tax reforms on 26 June 2025 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed four tax bills into law.

These Acts will take effect on 1 January 2026 and represent a significant overhaul of the country’s tax system.

The reforms aim to modernize and harmonize Nigeria’s tax framework, improve revenue generation, broaden the tax base, and create clearer rules for individuals, businesses, and government agencies.

“Our decision to host this masterclass reflects our commitment to empowering businesses with the right information ahead of the commencement of the new tax regime.

“Information is money and a well-informed business owner is already steps ahead in the race to success.

“This is why we are bringing experts to provide accurate details and demystify the tax act,” said Osita Ede, Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank Plc.

Interested participants can register via https://bit.ly/2026TaxLawMasterclass .


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