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PORTFOLIO COMPANIES
COMPANY PROFILE
Delivering electrical power to people in off-grid areas.
WASSHA Inc. delivers the "Mobile Money" technology in Africa to sell electricity to the unelectrified areas. "WASSHA" means “ignite” in Swahili.
The company aims to improve the lives of people in Africa by enabling a lifestyle with access to reliable electricity and power. WASSHA believes that access to electricity is a key accelerator to other advancements in the medical, educational, industrial and agricultural fields.
The company aims to improve the lives of people in Africa by enabling a lifestyle with access to reliable electricity and power. WASSHA believes that access to electricity is a key accelerator to other advancements in the medical, educational, industrial and agricultural fields.
COMPANY STORY
Origin
CEO Satoshi Akita selected Africa as the starting region for the business based on the potential of the electrification market, its social significance, and regulatory considerations. Digital Grid Solutions (the company's former name) was co-founded in April 2013 by Akita and Dr. Rikiya Abe, a professor at the University of Tokyo (at the time). The company was renamed to WASSHA in December 2017.
Strength
WASSHA collected a detailed landscape of data on consumer coverage and consumption trends of millions of people in Africa by partnering with kiosks in rural areas. The management is based in Tanzania, in close operational proximity to the local communities (Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, etc.), and leverages collaborations with Japanese corporations to deliver value
UTEC’s value add
As a lead investor since the company's inception, UTEC has provided a variety of support in finance, business planning, executive recruitment, organization building, legal risk handling, and IPO preparation.
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Power to the people
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Kiosk image in Tanzania
