The round was spearheaded by KawiSafi Ventures, with co-lead investment from Aruwa Capital and All On—both of which supported Koolboks during its 2022 seed round—with FFEM and Bpifrance supplying debt financing as part of the mix.

Supplementing this equity and debt funding, Koolboks attracted grants and results‑based grants from a diverse range of development entities, including FFEM/AFD, PREO (backed by UK Aid and the IKEA Foundation), Efficiency for Access, Innovate UK, BGFA Uganda, CEI Africa, and the Shell Foundation.

According to Crunchbase data, this latest round brings Koolboks’ total financing to approximately US$15.4 million.

In regions such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, access to dependable cooling can determine whether a vendor preserves produce or watches it spoil—or whether a clinic maintains vaccines or loses them to power interruptions.

Koolboks is positioning its solar‑powered freezers, coupled with innovative financing and IoT oversight, as essential infrastructure that makes cooling both fair and accessible.

“Every day, I meet small business owners, mostly women, who are forced to throw away unsold food or burn diesel just to stay open,” said Ayoola Dominic, co‑founder and CEO of Koolboks.

“This raise allows us to deepen our reach, build locally, and put power back in their hands.”

Deborah Gaël, co‑founder, added: “This isn’t just about technology. It’s about economic freedom for women, families, and communities.”

Since launching in 2018, Koolboks has distributed over 10,000 solar‑powered freezers in more than 25 countries, with its largest revenue streams coming from Nigeria, followed by Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

Users can either buy units outright or pay in installments through PAYGO (pay‑as‑you‑go) plans integrated with mobile payments.

Koolboks has also introduced Koolbuy, a BNPL (buy‑now‑pay‑later) platform offering solar freezers—and eventually even third‑party cooling appliances—on flexible payment terms.

Koolboks plans to launch a local assembly plant in Nigeria within the next 12–18 months.

The move is expected to reduce shipping and import costs, allowing the company to lower consumer prices by 15–20%—making sustainable refrigeration even more affordable.

The company also operates Scrap4New, a trade‑in initiative where customers can return old or broken units in exchange for discounted new ones.

Koolboks’ freezers are IoT‑enabled, tracking metrics such as temperature, energy usage, and payment status.

This not only assists end‑users in managing their units but also creates a recurring revenue stream for Koolboks through both financing services and data analytics offerings.