Washikala Malango's Altech Group bags $18 million debt financing

Altech Group, the provider of clean and affordable energy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, led by the visionary Congolese entrepreneur Washikala Malango, has secured $18 million in debt financing and grants to further consolidate its position in the market and enhance the accessibility of energy across the country.

The funding was primarily provided by the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF) Triple Jump and Rabobank, a leading Dutch multinational banking and financial services firm.

With the debt financing, Altech is poised to expand its operations by opening over 30 new sales outlets in rural areas, where there is a dearth of competition.

Moreover, the firm will distribute 180,000 solar products to provide clean, reliable energy to approximately 900,000 individuals.

Malango, the CEO and co-founder of Altech underscored the critical role played by Rabobank and EEGF, among other lenders, in facilitating Altech’s mission of providing affordable and clean energy solutions to thousands of off-grid households in Congo.

With this financing, Malango said Altech will be able to extend modern, reliable, and cost-effective solar solutions to underprivileged households in Congo.

In addition, this investment will enable the firm to create several green job opportunities for the youth of the country.

The journey so far for Washikala Malango

Interestingly, Malango’s journey to entrepreneurship is a remarkable one. He, along with his co-founder Iongwa Mashangao, was forced to flee their home village of Baraka in South Kivu during the Congolese civil war.

They spent their formative years in a refugee camp in Tanzania, where their potential was spotted by someone from the UNHCR.

This led them to earn scholarships to the prestigious University of Dar es Salaam, laying the foundation for their eventual success as entrepreneurs.

Driven by their vision to create a tangible impact in their home country, Malango and Iongwa Mashangao, who received the Washington Mandela Fellowship for Young African Leaders after completing their degrees, returned to the DRC with a concrete plan.

In 2013, they founded the Altech Group with the objective of addressing DRC’s energy deficit, which affects 90 percent of Congolese people who lack access to electricity.

Under their leadership, Altech has emerged as the leading provider of clean energy products and services in DRC.

The firm has created more than 4,000 jobs, sold over 300,000 products, and impacted the lives of more than 1.5 million people.