Nithio’s Investment and Impact
Nithio is proud to announce its investment in Altech Group, a leading provider of solar energy products and clean cookstoves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Altech is committed to ending energy poverty by 2030, providing clean, reliable, and affordable energy solutions that save households money and improve their livelihoods. With Nithio’s financing, Altech will expand its solar home systems portfolio, scale e-mobility solutions, and enhance its household water point products, broadening its impact.
“Nithio is excited to partner with Altech on our first investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With over 80 million people lacking access to electricity, the DRC faces significant challenges as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. With this investment, we are proud to contribute to a more connected and resilient future for the DRC.“
-Kate Steel, Nithio Co-founder and CEO
“We are thrilled by the backing from Nithio, which enables us to scale our solar home systems portfolio, expand our e-mobility solutions, and enhance our household water point products. This support allows us to broaden our impact across the DRC, reaching more households with sustainable energy solutions. With our extensive distribution network and strong customer base, we are excited to continue meeting our customers’ diverse energy needs while driving growth in these key areas.“
– Malango Washikala, Altech Co-founder/CEO
Nithio provided financing to Altech through the Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion, and Resilience (FAIR), a blended-finance vehicle designed to scale investments in companies that sell household energy products. FAIR aims to increase connectivity, improve livelihoods, and build climate resilience by filling a market gap, funding both local and international distributors, and scaling with them as they grow. To date, Nithio has made 14 investments in companies providing access to climate solutions, such as Solar Home Systems (SHS) and Solar Productive Use Appliances (PUA), including solar water pumps, fans, and mobile phones.
Altech’s Innovation and Growth
Altech provides clean energy and cooking solutions to off-grid communities in the DRC, reducing reliance on harmful energy sources like kerosene lamps and diesel generators. The population spends an estimated $1 billion annually on unsafe and polluting lighting and cooking solutions. Altech has significantly impacted households by helping them save over $60 million in energy costs. Its PAYGO financing model enables customers to make manageable installments, while the company’s network of solar ambassadors ensures efficient product and service distribution in rural areas. This has enabled Altech to:
- Implemented PAYGO financing model benefiting over 2.25 million individuals
- Distributed over 450,000 clean energy products, 25,000 clean cookstoves, and 50 sustainable motorcycles.
- Created over 4,500 jobs in the region.
With Nithio’s support, Altech aims to scale its operations and achieve the following milestones by 2030 :
- Deploy 1 million solar systems, reaching 50 million people in the DRC.
- Enable USD 2 billion in customer savings on energy costs.
- Establish 5,000 solar water points to improve access to clean water.
- Avoid 3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions and save 1 million hectares of forests.
- Improve livelihoods for individuals and businesses by creating over 300,000 jobs.
About Nithio
Nithio is a climate fintech platform that invests in clean energy companies and helps others allocate capital to climate solutions that build resilience. Powered by our Risk Analytics Engine, we leverage customer repayment data, geospatial data, and AI to standardize credit risk assessment. The Engine informs our investments and supports scaling investments in clean energy companies that provide household energy assets, including solar home systems and productive use appliances, through our blended finance vehicle, FAIR, the Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion, and Resilience. Learn more at www.nithio.com.
About Altech Group
Founded in 2013, Altech Group provides clean energy and cooking solutions to over 1.5 million people in the DRC. Through product innovation, a robust distribution network, and PAYGO financing, Altech is transforming access to energy for off-grid households. Learn more at www.altech-rdc.com.
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