Koolboks

The problem

The average fish trader in Nigeria loses 30 per cent of their product daily due to the lack of affordable, reliable refrigeration. As the power grid is unreliable, traders supplement with diesel generators, which are expensive and harmful to the environment. Solar refrigeration could be a potential solution; however, the up-front costs are prohibitive. Loans could help purchase these assets, but fish traders have no assets and therefore are ineligible for most loans.

The company

Koolboks provides solar-powered refrigeration solutions where customers pay in small instalments through pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technology which enables mobile money payments and GSM-based machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity to remotely control and monitor refrigerators’ usage, billing and performance.

Project description

“Following a successful pilot program to test consumer response to Koolbok’s solar-powered refrigerators enabled with pay-as-you-go (PAYG) technology, Koolboks want to launch and scale the product in 12 markets in Nigeria, targeting fish traders, the majority of whom are women.”

Co-founders

Ayoola Dominic – Co-founder and CEO

Deborah Gael – Co-founder and COO

Message from the Co-founder

“We are thrilled that the GSMA has selected Koolboks as a grant recipient of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Digital Urban Services. The funding will enable us to help female fish traders in Lagos, Nigeria to have access to affordable and sustainable refrigeration, ultimately improving their small businesses and their lives. We thank the GSMA for helping us to further our mission to make sustainable cooking accessible to all.”