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§ Private Profile · 287 Rd 4 Baridhara Dohs, Dhaka CantonmentTSO, Dhaka, 1206, Bangladesh
SOLshare is a technology company.
SOLshare develops smart microgrid technology for peer-to-peer electricity trading, serving off-grid and rural areas. Its core offering, the SOLgrid, is a bi-directional DC electricity meter enabling real-time energy exchange, remote monitoring, and mobile money payments. This platform optimizes solar power distribution and monetization, providing electricity access via decentralized networks.
Founded in 2014-2015 by Dr. Sebastian Groh and Daniel Ciganovic, SOLshare addressed unreliable, affordable electricity in developing regions. Groh, an energy systems expert, and Ciganovic leveraged existing solar home systems. Their insight empowered energy-poor communities through electricity trade, transforming solar assets into a collective power source.
SOLshare serves rural households and small businesses in remote communities, especially Bangladesh, providing enhanced energy access and economic opportunities. Enabling individuals to buy and sell excess solar power fosters independence and resilience. Its long-term vision expands an intelligent network of distributed solar PV and storage assets, building a sustainable, interconnected energy future.
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 across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Series A in July 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2020 | $1M Series A | Impact Investment Exchange | Innogy Ventures, EDP Ventures, Innogy NEW Ventures | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2018 | $2M Series A | Sonia Bashir Kabir | Innogy Ventures, 2040vc, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center, Bestseller, BUETian Investor Network, DF Impact Capital, EDP Ventures, Future Energy Ventures, Impact Investment Exchange, MicroEnergy International, Planet Rise, Synapses, Innogy NEW Ventures | Announced |
SOLshare has raised $3.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SOLshare's investors include Impact Investment Exchange, Innogy Ventures, EDP Ventures, Innogy New Ventures, Sonia Bashir Kabir, 2040VC, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center, BESTSELLER, BUETian Investor Network, DF Impact Capital, Future Energy Ventures, MicroEnergy International.