- It was here that our mission was born
To solve one of the world's greatest problems, energy inequality.
ZOLA Electric, initially founded as Off Grid Electric by Xavier Helgesen, Erica Mackey, and Joshua Pierce, started in Tanzania, where the founders saw that both off-grid and on-grid communities depended on costly and harmful energy sources, such as diesel, kerosene, and lead-acid batteries. These inefficient backup systems restricted the social and economic progress of these communities.
Over time, ZOLA Electric has transformed from its roots as a hardware distribution company into the leading enterprise technology provider serving the energy access markets. ZOLA now focuses on delivering advanced technology platforms and solutions directly to integrator customers, helping energy providers deploy, manage, and optimize systems and their workforce on a large scale. With an expanded reach, ZOLA’s technology platform now drives our customers growth, efficiency and profitability by delivering power to over 3 million people and businesses across 10 countries on four continents.
Installations deployed
People with clean, reliable energy
Served across 4 continents
Hands-on experience
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Our journey:
From hardware to enterprise platform
Launched as “M-POWER” in Tanzania
Off-Grid Electric attracts first 1,000 customers by end of 2012.
SOLAR CITY joins the Board
ZOLA earns its first institutional funding in the pay-as-you-go solar sector.
ZOLA expands across Tanzania
ZOLA rapidly expands across Tanzania with over 10,000 customers choosing the company’s products.
ZOLA expands to Rwanda
ZOLA launches its solar home systems in Rwanda displacing kerosene, petrol and diesel cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
ZOLA expands to Ivory Coast
ZOLA and EDF Energy announce a joint venture to expand energy access in Ivory Coast.
Introduced ZOLA FLEX
FLEX launched as the best-in-class plug and play, pre-paid solar system. ZOLA closes a growth funding round led by Helios Partners and General Electric (GE).
Powering 1 Million lives
ZOLA continues its rapid growth and surpasses more than 1 million daily users.
ZOLA drives energy access through pandemic
ZOLA continues to ensure energy flows to its 1.5 million customers and introduces new products to address pandemic conditions
ZOLA becomes technology provider
ZOLA sells its West Africa integration JV to EDF, becoming exclusive technology supplier and converting to a pure play Energy Technology company sold to enterprise customers.
ZOLA introduces foundational elements of its enterprise platform
ZOLA launches its first generation enterprise platform into Africa, Asia and North America with With FLEX, FLEX MAX and an early version of ZOLA iNTELLIGENCE
ZOLA launches next generation enterprise platform with Zi, EDGE
ZOLA becomes full-fledged platform company sold BtoB with launch of Zi, Edge, B2B services across GTM, sales, technical and data. Gen1 Platform selling in over 10 Energy Access countries across 4 continents.
Meet our leaders
Our leadership team is composed of a dynamic mix of employees and trusted independent experts who bring unique perspectives and experience to our mission. We are proud to work with industry leaders who guide our strategy and operations.
Architect of ZOLA’s transformation from a consumer-facing energy provider into the world’s first distributed energy technology platform. Bill has held operating and private equity roles at Goldman Sachs, Bain & Co, Calera Capital, and Switch Lighting, shaping his expertise in business expansion.
A technology pioneer with a track record of launching large-scale enterprise platforms and connected products in clean energy, e-mobility, and smart grids. Suresh has held engineering and product leadership roles at Proterra, Sunverge, Nokia, and ABB, driving innovation across multiple industries.
Mukul is an experienced product leader with success in scaling cloud software, AI-driven climate tech, and energy storage systems. Mukul has held product roles at Resource Innovations, Nexant, and Oracle. He holds a BS and MEng in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT.
Built the most successful energy company serving the developing world. Johnson has led ZOLA’s expansion across multiple markets with roles as Director of Operations and Director of Expansion. <br/>He holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and leadership certification from Harvard University.
A seasoned global operations and supply chain executive with 20+ years of experience managing large-scale international supply chains across the US, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Previously at SunLink, Ranjan developed and executed a global supply chain strategy that cut costs by 75% and improved lead times and delivery performance.
Board members
A serial entrepreneur with a passion for building impactful companies. Lyndon co-founded SolarCity, which installed over 300,000 solar systems before being acquired by Tesla in 2016. He also founded Everdream, acquired by Dell in 2007, showcasing expertise in software and distributed systems. Lyndon’s entrepreneurial drive highlights his dedication to innovation.
A seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience in software and cloud infrastructure. David helped scale Pure Storage from its early stages to a multibillion-dollar data center technology leader. His expertise in hyper-growth, profitability, and innovation supports ZOLA’s mission of providing global energy equality.
A veteran Chief Information Officer with a strong background in technology and strategy. Ben’s leadership at Google has shaped innovation in distributed systems and large-scale infrastructure. His expertise strengthens ZOLA’s ability to develop cutting-edge energy solutions while ensuring technological excellence aligns with social impact.
A pioneer and leader in impact investing, Nancy has demonstrated the power of venture capital to drive social and environmental change. As the founder of DBL Partners, she was recognized on the FORBES Impact 50 List. Her expertise in impact investing supports ZOLA’s mission of energy equality.
A strong business leader with 14 years of experience building successful companies across Europe and Africa. As a Partner at Helios Investment Partners, Jamie’s expertise in global markets and diverse business environments provides valuable insights as ZOLA expands its operations across multiple continents.
Bill serves as the Founder and CEO of ZOLA Electric. Over the past 10 years, he has led ZOLA’s Enterprise Technology model and expanded the company from a single country to 10 across four continents. His experience spans operations, private equity, and leadership at top firms.
Our Partners
