The new brand is being launched first at group level, with individual market transitions to follow over the remainder of 2020 and start of 2021. The group launch coincides with the celebration of two exciting moments for the business - having positively transformed more than one million lives by unlocking potential through access to energy, and the company's 10th year in business.
After graduating from university at Imperial College London, Bboxx's co-founders saw the potential to create a sustainable, affordable, and commercial solution to the energy access challenges experienced by communities and businesses in the developing world. They responded by founding Bboxx.
Ten years on, the business has achieved scale driven by its innovative IoT technology and forging partnerships with multi-national firms, investors, and governments across the globe. Bboxx's $50 million Series D funding round led by Mitsubishi Corporation, and joint venture with EDF in Togo have been key turning points in the business' growth trajectory. Among others, it has also been expanding in key markets Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), and providing energy to citizens in Togo, DRC, and Rwanda by working with governments.
In these extraordinary times for the global economy and off-grid energy sector, Bboxx's new brand launch signals the company's ambitions for the post-COVID-19 future. Bboxx has been agile in responding to the pandemic, while demand for energy - an essential need - has remained robust. The company has introduced 'crisis energy' schemes in Togo, the DRC, Kenya, and Rwanda, providing bonus days of energy for free for customers who pay upfront. In the DRC, Bboxx is also providing vital electricity for lighting in hospitals.
Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder, Bboxx , commented, "Ten years after we founded Bboxx, the launch of our new global brand comes at a pivotal time for our business and the industry. As COVID-19 has laid bare: the world is changing. We are adapting as a business and are determined to emerge as a stronger company, with a vital role to play in the green economy recovery. Our new brand will propel us forward to build for the future, with our customers' energy needs at the very heart of this.
"Bboxx exists to solve a major global problem: energy poverty. We are proud to have provided clean, reliable and affordable energy to over one million people across Africa and Asia - and we have only just begun. Our new brand is the first of many other exciting developments we have in the pipeline. As we look towards this next phase of our ambitious growth journey, we remain driven - now more than ever before - by our mission to transform lives and unlock potential through access to energy."
Bboxx has grown to employ over 800 people globally across its HQ in London, with offices in Africa including in Rwanda, Kenya, Togo, and the DRC, and manufacturing in China. While contributing directly to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 - affordable and clean energy - the business is also helping to promote sustained, inclusive economic growth (SDG 8), reduce inequalities (SDG 10), combat climate change (SDG 13), among others.
