$90 Million Funding for Zola to Scale Technology and Enter New Markets

Orrick represented Zola Electric, a leading technology company offering renewable energy solutions designed to provide clean and affordable power, on a $90 million mixed debt refinancing and equity funding. Zola will use the funding to improve product development and expand its offerings to new markets. 

The equity funding was led by a pool of investors which included TotalEnergies Ventures — a capital venture of TotalEnergies. The debt financing featured, amongst others, top energy lenders FMO and SunFunder, two entities known to provide debt capital to solar companies in emerging markets.

With over 1.5 million users, Zola products are used across the African continent, including Ivory Coast, Ghana, Namibia, DRC, South Africa, Zambia and Nigeria. Outside Africa, the company is also present in the U.S., Brazil, Pakistan and the Philippines. It has plans to expand further into Northern Africa, Asia and South America.

This was a meaningful transaction spanning several jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.S., that showcases the strength and synergies between Orrick’s impact finance and investment and renewable energy capabilities. The cross-office, multi-jurisdictional Banking & Finance team was led by partners Madeleine Horrocks, Bill Haft and Greg Heibel, and included managing associate Franco Lambiase and associates Caterina Volonté and Kyung Park.