New Oikocredit loan helps light up about 40,000 homes in Côte d'Ivoire

Up to 40,000 off-grid households in rural and semi-urban areas across Côte d'Ivoire will soon have access to energy and digital platforms as a result of a new loan from Oikocredit to Baobab+ Cote d’Ivoire (Baobab+ CI). Oikocredit has made € 1.2 million available in fresh funding to the Ivorian affiliate of Baobab+ SAS, the renewable energy and digital entity member of global financial services company Baobab Group. 

The credit supports Baobab+ CI’s expansion strategy. In particular, it will help the social enterprise to add more Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar and other clean energy systems to its portfolio. 

Oikocredit advanced a first tranche of € 750,000 to Baobab+ CI in 2020. This loan matured in February 2023. 

The new loan will help serve an additional 20,000 households, said Pauline Salançon, CEO of Baobab+ Côte d’Ivoire. 

Shared values  

“We feel fortunate to have Oikocredit, a pioneer in social impact investment by our side since 2019. Sharing the same values is very important to achieve our ambitions, thanks to this renewed partnership, we plan on reaching 20,000 additional underserved households in the next three years,” Pauline said. 

Baobab+ CI actively contributes to access to energy and finance for populations with few or no alternatives. Its PAYG solution bypasses high upfront costs by enabling customers to make daily, weekly or monthly payments according to their cash flow – thus removing impediments to ownership. 

Oikocredit has helped Baobab+ CI strengthen its operations, said Yves Komaclo, Oikocredit's Investment Manager for West Africa.  

He said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Baobab+ CI and to support its 2022-2026 expansion strategy. Our three-year collaboration has helped the award-winning company to mature into an established market player and to serve an additional 20,000 households in underserved parts of the country, in the coming three years. As the first international investor to Baobab+ CI, we look forward to supporting Baobab+ CI’s future of delivering clean energy and digital products in Cote d’Ivoire, while creating higher social impact in the communities we serve.”

Read the full press release here