Ghanaian energy startup, Kofa, has secured $8.1 million in pre-Series A funding to scale up its battery-swapping infrastructure across Ghana and Kenya.
The funding, sourced from equity, debt, and grants, will enable the deployment of new battery swap stations, acquisition of battery stock, and the expansion of Kofa’s AI-enabled energy platform.
Founded in 2021, Kofa isn’t building electric vehicles. It isn’t interested in retail or manufacturing either. What it offers is a simple and urgent solution, which is direct access to clean, affordable energy for people who need it—whether gig workers on motorbikes or small business owners relying on generators. The company is betting on swappable battery tech to fix Africa’s electricity gap.
The model involves users paying about $1 per swap, changing a dead battery for a full one in under two minutes, and moving on with their lives. No need for queues, petrol fumes or unstable grids. Just power.
Kofa’s CEO and co-founder, Erik Nygard, said, “We think trying to capture the whole value chain is the wrong play here. It ignores the reality on the ground. In Africa, scale happens through partnerships, not vertical integration.”
This logic underpins the company’s refusal to manufacture batteries or bikes. The batteries are made in China. The vehicles? TailG, a Chinese OEM, handles that. Kofa focuses on energy delivery and software to manage the network, leaving sales and logistics to distributors. Even the batteries aren’t owned by Kofa but financed by asset investors.
Kofa’s funding round was co-led by E3 Capital and Injaro Investment Advisors, with additional backing from Shell Foundation and other European investors.
According to Jerry Parkes, managing director of Injaro, “Our investment in Kofa is about more than just backing a promising energy company; it’s about supporting a solution that delivers tangible economic benefits for local communities. We are also excited to deploy Ghanaian capital in support of a visionary and experienced founder driving sustainable energy innovation in Africa.”
There’s a huge market need. Sub-Saharan Africa spends around $30 billion each year powering motorcycles and small generators with fuel. Kofa’s model offers energy at a cost that’s 20–30% lower. If Kofa captures even a tenth of that market, it’s a potential $3 billion business, while saving users money.
At present, Kofa operates 10 swap stations in Accra and is setting up 40 more across Accra and Kumasi. The company recently entered Kenya and handles about 200 battery swaps per day—a number expected to grow rapidly as the network expands.
Still, Kofa isn’t profitable yet. That doesn’t concern Nygard. “Profitability at this stage isn’t the goal — scale is,” he said.
The Shell Foundation sees potential in that scale. “Shell Foundation supports solutions that raise incomes for everyday people in key sectors, while simultaneously lowering emissions,” said Jonathan Berman, its CEO.
“Kofa’s technology has huge potential for scale, and it is exciting to see this fundraise accelerate the expansion into new cities and national markets.”
What Kofa is building is infrastructure. A grid of batteries ready to replace unreliable national systems. Ensuring productivity that doesn’t rely on diesel, and for many users, like Cecil of Serene Insurance, it’s already working: “It gives me power just like ECG! The battery is very good.”
