About Sunkofa

Sunkofa Energy provides energy services through smart mini-grids powered by renewable energy. The focus of Sunkofa is to provide people with the means to climb the energy ladder via innovative solutions related to electricity (refrigeration, milling, internet…).

Through its presence in Europe and roots in Africa, Sunkofa becomes a bridge between investors and local talent, unlocking the potential of the continent.

Africa lights by night

The problem

590m people don’t have access to electricity in africa

“With supportive policies, the IEA says, mini-grids could serve 450 million people by 2030.”

World Economic Forum, 2018

“Decentralized mini-grids combining solar and battery storage technology are now the least-cost option to connect at least 100 million Africans today, and many more within the next decade”

Crossboundary, 2018

“Bloomberg team holds that out of 238 million households to receive electricity supply until 2030, 34 million would source energy from microgrids.”

BNEF, 2018

Our Solution

PROVIDING ENERGY SERVICES THANKS TO MINI-GRIDS

OFFER FOR 100% OF THE VILLAGE: For each customer a 100% renewable solution is proposed

Sunkofa energy - solution
GENERATION SOLUTION

The generation solution is made of PV panels, batteries and power electronics, and its modularity allows increases in capacity by multiples of 10kW.

FOR ALL CLIENTS

We provide energy to everyone : residential household, tertiary, and industrial customers.

DISTRIBUTION GRID

Our distribution grid consist of low voltage and alternating current aligned with national standards.

PAYGO TECHNOLOGY

The service is paid by mobile money, and delivered to the customer by smart metering systems managed by a digital platform, allowing customer management and data analytics.

SUNKOFA’S POSITIONING: IN HOUSE OPERATIONS, CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT AND DEMAND STIMULATION

New productive services

New productive services

Ability to pay for electricity increased

Ability to pay for electricity increased

The village becomes a development pole

The village becomes a development pole

Productive usages and trading bring new revenue streams in the village

Productive usages and trading bring new revenue streams in the village

Budget dedicated to energy expenses is limited and an increase of electricity services usage
will only be possible if the ability to pay of the clients increase.

Sunkofa’s unique positioning in the market and strategy

Deployment in West Africa (specially French speaking countries) and high market potential countries with low competition

Focus on in house operations, customer management and demand stimulation

Tailored commercial offer for different type of clients integrating lessons learnt from central grids and Solar Home Systems

Proper training and staffing of local teams in each targeted country

Meet the Team

JUAN GARCIA MONTES - CEO

JUAN GARCIA MONTES CEO

Working on energy access projects for 18 years as Project Developer, Project Manager and Country Manager in over 20 African countries

Former Managing Director of PowerCorner, initiative of ENGIE for mini-grids in rural Africa

Former Director Rural Electrification EMEA at SunEdison

MBA Executive (IE Business School ) and BA Law and Economics

ANTOINE VEYRE - CFO

ANTOINE VEYRE CFO

Working in finance and energy sector for more than 12 years with experience in M&A, project finance, cost control and financial planning

Former CFO of PowerCorner

Former financial advisor of Rassembleur d’Energie, ENGIE impact investing fund. Investment in solar home service company BBOX closed in June 2016

Master in Business Science - HEC – Paris, 2006

GUILLAUME VAN DER SCHUEREN - COO

GUILLAUME VAN DER SCHUEREN COO

Ensures service delivery excellence in efficient and harmonious ways

Digital Manager of PowerCorner for more than 3 years, from its pilot to its international scale-up phase

7+ years of digital consulting for the public and private sector

Master in Management at Louvain School of Management (UCLouvain) and Bachelor in applied Computer Sciences

IRENE CALVÉ SABORIT - CBDO

IRENE CALVÉ SABORIT CBDO

Leads the activities in new markets and identification of revenues improvement actions

Successful development of mini-grids activities in different countries for the past 2 years at PowerCorner

4 years experience in consultancy focusing on energy markets and tariffs, B2C opportunities, distributed energy and rural electrification

MSc Sustainable Energy at Danmarks Tekniske Universitet and MSc Industrial Engineer Universidad Politécnica de Valencia

ESTEBAN PEREZ GONZALEZ - CTO

ESTEBAN PEREZ GONZALEZ CTO

Wide experience in solar energy, designing and optimizing PV & Hybrid Mini Grid solutions for energy access at companies like PowerCorner, SunEdison, Isolux Corsan or Gamesa Solar since 2007.

BSc Mining Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and MSc Energy in MINES ParisTech.

Lessons learnt from our experience

Regulatory frameworks are key, but authorities’ engagement and willingness to develop mini-grids operated by private players is as important.

Software system design must be driven by processes. Well defined processes don’t require enormous digital investments.

Technical competences on the ground are mandatory for new connections, ensure the modularity of the solution & enable the connection and training of productive clients.

Mini Grid (MG) developers focus on cost reduction and connection and not enough on customer service & demand stimulation.

Talent identification, clear processes and proper training are essential to avoid overstaffed inefficient local teams.

Mastering operational management, optimizing customer portfolios and adopting a price structure that makes cash flows more resilient to demand risk.

Tailored commercial offer for different type of
clients integrating lessons learnt from central grid and shs

Using Mobile money and PAYGO technology

Residential clients,
communities & small businesses

Residential clients, communities & small businesses
Flexible payment scheme

Differentiated offers providing the right value for the different categories of clients

Energy service offer

Including appliances and electricity

Industrial clients
 

Industrial clients
Energy

Clean, reliable, and competitive energy pricing for economical growth

Productive appliances

Specific customer service for productive appliances

Projects

Flag of Benin MCC MCA Logo
Mionwa Logo

Sunkofa in consortium with PowerGen through their affiliate Mionwa was one of the awardee of the call for project OCEF (Off-Grid Clean Energy Facility) supported by US development Financing Institution MCC (Millenium Challenge Corporation) and signed with MCA Benin II a grant contract for the construction, operation and maintenance of solar mini grids in 40 rural localities in the departments of Atlantique, Collines, Couffo, Ouémé, Mono and Zou. This project should provide access to electricity to 80 000 beneficiaries.

Flag of Zambia Flag of EU

Sunkofa was one of the awardee of the call for project IAEREP (Increased Access to Electricity and Renewable Energy Production) and signed with European Union a grant contract for the construction, operation and maintenance of solar mini-grids in Zambia.

Partners

PowerGen logo

Shareholder

Gaia Impact Fund Logo

SUNKOFA

THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME

Our name takes inspiration from the word “Sankofa”: from the Twi language of Ghana "Go back and get it"; we must look back to the past so that we may understand how we became what we are, and move forward to a better future.

Sunkofa - THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME

It is our inspiration to capitalize on our previous experiences in energy access in order to provide the best value proposition for our customers.

Careers

Send us your CV at careers@sunkofa.energy