Gaia Impact sold its stake in the Solar Home Systems distributor upOwa, to the global energy company EDF

Established in 2014, upOwa was one of the first businesses to offer pay-as-you-go for SHS in Cameroon – a country where just one in five rural homes is connected to the grid, and where there is a strong and urgent need for off-grid solutions.

Gaia Impact and upOwa started their partnership back in 2017 in order to boost the company’s development and electricity access in rural areas. A few years later, as one of the leading SHS provider in the country, upOwa welcomed a pool of financial investors including the UK government-funded REPP (Renewable Energy Performance Platform) and Colam Impact. 

Since its inception, UpOwa has connected more than 145,000 people to electricity for the first time, helped to avoid more than 15,000 tCO2 and created more than 100 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs. This remarkable achievement led EDF’s decision to consolidate its position in Cameroon and accelerate the roll-out of distributed energy solutions across the continent.

Hélène Demaegdt, Founder and President of Gaia Impact, stated: “It is great news for upOwa that we have been supporting for more than 6 years. This operation will allow the company to emerge stronger and to continue to maximise its social and environmental impact in Cameroon. »