South Africa – 22 February 2024 Hohm Energy, the South African Climate Fintech company that helps homeowners and businesses to go solar with accredited solar installers, product suppliers, and embedded solar finance, has today announced the successful final close of its $8m Seed round. The funding marks the largest seed round for a tech startup in South Africa totalling $8m, which was led by E3 Capital and 4DX Ventures and attracted participation from new investors, including Breega, E4E Africa, TO.org, Tekton Ventures, Sunu Capital, Musha Ventures, and Climate Capital Ventures.
Hohm Energy will now accelerate the adoption of rooftop solar in the region by investing in its new cutting-edge climate fintech strategy, additionally bolstering its tech, product innovation and solar installer skills development to make rooftop solar more accessible, trusted and affordable for everyone.
Launched in 2021 by Tim Ohlsen and Emir Gluhbegovic, Hohm Energy has revolutionised the entire end-to-end solar journey, having built its own proprietary software platform and marketplace that helps connect everyone in the value chain. The company leverages technology to tackle challenges in South Africa’s $51.4B complex rooftop solar market, streamlining the design, scheduling and procurement process for installers and enhancing accessibility for buyers, mitigating delays, installation flaws, compliance risks and financing obstacles.
Amidst a growing energy crisis, South Africa finds itself in the grip of escalating power shortages, resorting to daily electricity rationing to prevent a nationwide grid collapse. Eskom, the state-run power generator, has acknowledged a staggering power shortfall of over 6,000 megawatts at times. In addressing these challenges, Hohm Energy provides an alternative and sustainable energy source to the 7.7M addressable households, helping to ease the strain on the national grid. To-date Hohm Energy has generated over 17,000 custom solar rooftop designs using its solar proposal engine worth $190M, originating over $90M in finance applications to its retail banking partners.
For solar installers, Hohm Energy provides them with the opportunity to gain trust and also effectively design, manage, finance and procure their solar projects. Hohm Energy customers can have their properties’ solar energy requirements determined digitally and effectively through the platform and they get access to credit financing and an order and fulfilment process that extends to after-sales services including repair and maintenance.
Hohm Energy has struck partnerships with the majority of South Africa’s retail financial institutions, such as Investec, Nedbank, MFC, FNB, Wesbank and Capitec customers have access to the platform’s finance and credit scoring process to secure structured financing from these institutions. Additionally, Hohm now offers a solar subscription service to South African households, powered by Glint, making solar more accessible then ever before with an all new and digital solar purchasing experience.
Speaking on the investment, Tim Ohlsen, CEO of Hohm Energy stated ‘The energy system in South Africa is broken. ClimateTech is key to solving the current challenges through the provision of a scalable and sustainable alternative. Our robust software platform and fintech marketplace, which enables us to offer value to all stakeholders, is pivotal in enhancing the efficiency of rooftop solar installations and ultimately mitigating the severity of load-shedding being experienced. We are honoured to be collaborating with renowned global investors who share our passion and vision and are helping us achieve our mission on a larger scale’
Significantly, Hohm Energy is poised to attain sustainable profitability in the current year. This achievement underscores the compelling investment potential Hohm Energy offers.
Vladimir Dugin, Senior Partner at E3 Capital added “We are thrilled to announce our inaugural investment in Hohm Energy. With its tech-driven approach, Hohm is at the forefront of South Africa’s green energy revolution. The team is uniquely positioned to create a “one-stop shop” for all green solutions for residential customers and address existing challenges around energy supply.”
Peter Orth, Managing Partner at 4DX added, “We strongly believe in Hohm’s mission to drive rooftop solar adoption across South Africa and beyond, and have seen similar businesses thrive in a number of markets globally. We believe Hohm is best positioned to bring this solution to South Africa where it is sorely needed given the state of the electric grid, and are thrilled to be backing Tim and his team at this stage of their journey”.
Following the investment, the company will also be launching the Hohm School program, designed to train and empower local solar installers, through the Hohm Energy Standard for Solar Systems Installations (HESSSI), across the country.
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For additional information or interview requests with Hohm Energy Founder & CEO, Tim Ohlsen, please contact Yemi Kuti yemi@wimbart.com or Timi Omilana timileyin@wimbart.com
About Hohm Energy
Hohm Energy is a South African ClimateTech platform that has set out to revolutionise the inefficient and overly complex processes that homeowners encounter when purchasing a solar energy system. The team has developed an innovative tech-enabled platform and fintech marketplace that connects homeowners with trusted solar installers and also facilitates structured financing. Acting as an aggregator for financial organisations, Hohm Energy enables customers to access credit and afford solar systems with ease.
About E3 Capital
E3 Capital is a leading investor in early-stage businesses enabling digitised, decentralised, and decarbonised business models across Africa. Presently, E3 oversees two Pan-African funds: Energy Access Ventures Fund with a focus on energy access and productive use of energy and E3 Low Carbon Economy Fund with a focus on climate tech and digital infrastructure. The team at E3 comprises of a young and diverse team, committed to the future of the low carbon economy. With its core team based out of Africa, E3 is uniquely positioned to help companies grow and scale, without compromising global sustainability ambitions. The team backs forward-thinking entrepreneurs endeavouring to bridge the gap between climate transition and growth in emerging markets with green energy as the enabler of these products and services. To learn more about E3 Capital visit: https://e3-cap.com/
About 4DX
4DX Ventures is a Pan-Africa Focused Venture Capital Firm whose mission is to connect people, ideas, and capital to create a vibrant African community. This is achieved by partnering with bold and gifted entrepreneurs who are building companies that will usher in Africa’s technology age and seeking founders who are focused, creative, have a growth mindset, and possess true grit. For more information please visit
