Cape Town-based startup Open Access Energy bags R13.6m in seed funding

Source: Unsplash

The funding marks the initial tranche of a $1.5m seed round for the company and it is expected to enable the company to scale operations, develop new features, and strengthen its position in the energy sector.

Daniel Novitzkas, chairman at Specno, will work with the team at OAE to accelerate their innovation capabilities:

“Gerjo (OAE CEO) and his team have made a powerful play to decentralise energy and ensure universal access to clean power for all South Africans.

Our digital innovation agency will assist their team in achieving this mammoth undertaking with the support they need to innovate faster and deploy their solutions sooner.

“We believe that OAE has the potential to make a substantial impact in our energy sector, and we are delighted to confirm that our partnership with them will serve to support their mission at a strategic level, especially with regards to expanding their market reach, as we aim to deploy their software solutions to every municipality in South Africa,” concludes Novitzkas.

The startup has developed two software solutions to improve and facilitate transactions between private generation (independent power producers (IPPs), energy traders and consumers, and larger off-takers, including factories and other large power users.

The startup aims to transform South Africa’s energy sector by enabling wheeling in a future play to enhance grid reliability, reduce emissions, and create new revenue streams for IPPs.