Koolboks Secures $11M to Scale Clean Cooling Across Africa

PIC CAPTION: A small business owner using a Koolboks solar-powered freezer to preserve dairy products. Koolboks provides affordable, clean cooling solutions that empower women entrepreneurs and communities across Africa. The startup won Best Energy Startup Award at the AfricArena Lagos Summit 2025. Image: Supplied / Koolboks

Across Africa, millions of households and businesses still struggle with the basics of reliable electricity, Nigeria alone counts over 80 million people without consistent access. For street vendors, shop owners, and especially women running small food businesses, not being able to keep products cold isn’t just inconvenient. It means lost income, wasted food, and fewer opportunities to grow. 

This is the gap Koolboks, founded in 2018 by Ayoola Dominic and Deborah Gaël, is closing. Their solution blends solar-powered refrigeration, pay-as-you-go flexibility, and IoT technology to deliver cooling as an accessible service. In just a few years, Koolboks has deployed 10,000+ units across 25 countries, positioning itself as a frontrunner in Africa’s clean energy refrigeration space. 

Now, the startup has secured $11 million in Series A funding, led by KawiSafi Ventures and Aruwa Capital, with participation from All On, FCMB, FFEM, and Bpifrance. This capital injection will accelerate production, scale distribution, and back the launch of Koolboks’ first assembly plant in Nigeria. 

From AfricArena Stage to Global Scaling 

Koolboks’ journey is closely tied to AfricArena. The startup pitched three times on our stage, first at the Nairobi Summit in 2023, then at the Grand Summit later that year, and most recently at the Lagos Summit 2025, where they won the Best Energy Startup Award.

It was during these engagements that Koolboks connected with key players in the ecosystem, including KawiSafi Ventures, a long-time AfricArena Summit sponsor and now a lead investor in this round. 

This is exactly what AfricArena exists to do: catalyze connections between startups, investors, and ecosystem partners. Since 2017, we’ve facilitated dozens of similar relationships, proving that Africa’s innovation ecosystem thrives when given the right platforms to connect and scale. Koolboks is a shining example of this mission in action. 

Fun fact: Koolboks’ co-founder and CEO Ayoola Dominic graduated from EDHEC Business School in France, the very same university as Christophe Viarnuad, AfricArena’s founder and CEO. 

Why Koolboks' Cooling Matters 

Food waste costs Africa billions every year, largely due to insufficient cold chain infrastructure. Small businesses, from frozen food sellers to rural health clinics, struggle with unreliable electricity, costly diesel generators, and lack of access to affordable cooling solutions. 

Koolboks addresses this by offering solar-powered, ice-battery freezers on a lease-to-own model, making it possible for entrepreneurs to pay for refrigeration as they grow their business. Their IoT platform monitors temperature, energy use, and payments remotely, bringing transparency, reliability, and affordability to a sector long plagued by inefficiency. 

The impact is clear: more food saved, more revenue for traders, and more resilient communities.

A Future Powered by Clean Cooling 

With this new funding, Koolboks plans to: 

● Expand its operations across Africa and beyond 

● Build its first local assembly plant in Nigeria 

● Scale distribution to reach more small businesses and clinics in underserved communities 

But beyond numbers and scale, Koolboks’ mission is about people. As Ayoola Dominic explains: 

“Every day, I meet small business owners, mostly women, who are forced to throw away unsold food or burn diesel just to stay open. For them, cooling is not about convenience, it’s about survival. This raise allows us to put power back in their hands.” 

Why This Matters for Africa’s Green Economy 

At AfricArena, we are proud to have been part of Koolboks’ journey and to see them now scaling with global partners. Their success is proof of Africa’s ability to build climate-tech solutions that combine commercial success with social impact. 

As Africa pushes toward a greener, more inclusive economy, startups like Koolboks show that innovation, sustainability, and empowerment can go hand in hand. 

Discover more from Koolboks at Koolboks.com

Explore African startup stories at africarena.com