SOLshare is a technology company.
SOLshare has raised $3.0M across 2 funding rounds.
SOLshare has raised $3.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SOLshare is a Bangladesh-based climate-tech company founded around 2014-2015, specializing in peer-to-peer (P2P) energy sharing platforms to deliver clean, affordable energy to off-grid and underserved communities.[1][2][3] It builds the SOLbazaar platform, an energy marketplace with business lines like SOLgrid (P2P microgrids for households and microbusinesses), SOLmobility (smart electric three-wheeler tech), and SOLroof (C&I solar rooftop services), serving base-of-the-pyramid customers, growing middle classes, businesses, and governments via B2B/B2G models.[1][2][4] SOLshare solves energy access deficits by enabling excess solar energy from 6 million solar home systems (SHS) in Bangladesh—worth $1 billion annually—to be traded in real-time via IoT devices like the SOLbox, mobile money, and secure P2P networks, fostering income generation and synergies between energy and transport.[3][4][5] The company has shown strong growth, earning awards like World's Best Energy Startup 2018, World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and scaling through funding rounds including $1.66M Series A in 2018 and $1.1M in 2020.[3][5]
SOLshare emerged in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from a mission to empower the "lowest echelon of society" by addressing inefficiencies in rural solar energy distribution, where millions of SHS produce excess power that goes unused.[1][4] Co-founders include Sebastian Groh (CEO, driving the P2P vision), Daniel (Co-Founder and Senior Financial Advisor with a Master's in Economics and experience in international development across Germany, Serbia, and Bangladesh), and Isa Abrar (tech expert with 10+ years leading SaaS like sBusiness.xyz, ICT projects at Bikroy.com and Samsung).[1] The idea crystallized around pioneering the world's first P2P solar microgrid—SOLgrid—using plug-and-play SOLbox IoT meters to connect households, enabling prosumers to trade energy dynamically and integrate with national grids.[3][4][7] Early traction came from pilots in off-grid Bangladesh and India, rapid network growth, and accolades like the 2018 Free Electrons award ($200K prize) plus UN recognition for smart village grids.[3][5][7]
(Note: A separate U.S.-focused SolShare by Allume exists for multifamily solar sharing but is distinct from SOLshare's global climate-tech focus.[6])
SOLshare rides the decentralized renewable energy wave, leapfrogging centralized grids in emerging markets like Bangladesh—global SHS leader with 6M installations—toward smart, distributed solar-storage-transport systems.[2][4][5] Timing aligns with off-grid electrification needs, climate adaptation, and IoT/mobile finance booms, monetizing $1B in wasted solar via P2P to boost rural economies and equity.[1][4][7] Market forces favoring it include falling solar costs, government SHS pushes, and utility interest (e.g., innogy, EDP investments), positioning SOLshare to influence global utilities by proving bottom-up smart grids that integrate renewables.[3][5] It shapes the ecosystem by inspiring P2P models worldwide, from UN-backed pilots to potential grid hybrids, accelerating energy inclusion in the Global South.[3][5][7]
SOLshare is poised to expand SOLbazaar with next-gen SOLbox launches (post-2020 iterations) and scale across Bangladesh, India, and beyond, targeting rapid growth in P2P microgrids amid rising EV-mobility and C&I solar demand.[1][2][5] Trends like decentralized energy trading, climate finance, and IoT leapfrogging will propel it, potentially evolving into a full energy-service giant influencing utility paradigms globally. As the pioneer turning solar excess into shared prosperity, SOLshare exemplifies how climate-tech can electrify the future from the base up.[4][5]
SOLshare has raised $3.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SOLshare's investors include Innogy Ventures.
SOLshare has raised $3.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Series A in July 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2020 | $1.0M Series A | Innogy Ventures | |
| Sep 1, 2018 | $2.0M Series A | Innogy Ventures |