TLG Capital backs Nigeria's Koolboks, lifting Nigeria commitments to $65M
What's the deal? TLG CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has closed a credit facility for Koolboks, the solar-powered freezer maker serving traders, small businesses, and corporate customers in Nigeria and beyond. The deal combines TLG's private credit with a guarantee from CascadorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, delivered in partnership with Morgan Stanley.
What's the endgame? Koolboks will use the working capital to fund inventory and grow its retail and appliance partnerships. Founded in Paris in 2018 by Ayoola Dominic and Deborah Gaël, the company builds freezers that pair solar panels with patented ice-battery technology and pay-as-you-go payments, keeping food and medicine cold through power outages.
Why now? It is the second transaction between TLG, Cascador, and Morgan Stanley in a matter of weeks, and it brings TLG's commitments to $65 million across 16 Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises over the past two years.
The facility follows Koolboks' $11 million Series A in 2025, led by KawiSafi VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which blended equity, debt, and grants to expand assembly in Nigeria. Debt lets the capital-intensive business grow without leaning solely on equity.
By the numbers: Koolboks has sold more than 15,000 units, assembles its products in Lagos, and employs around 400 people across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. It has shipped to more than 25 markets.
"TLG recognised what our product means for our customers, and found the right kind of financing to back it at the pace that we needed," said Dominic, chief executive officer of Koolboks.
The signal: Africa's climate-tech startups are increasingly turning to private credit, rather than dilutive equity alone, to fund inventory and hardware scale — a structure that fits the cash cycles of capital-heavy businesses selling to underserved markets.
Read more: africaprivateequitynews.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
