The Tunis-based IOT pioneer helping companies track and reduce their carbon emissions and energy spending, Wattnow has successfully raised $1.3M in its Pre-Series A and officially won 'most creative startup name' we cover this week!
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Wattnow, an African Tunis-based IoT smart energy management solution, closed a $1.3 million pre-Series A funding round with the participation of international and local reputable investors. The investment round was led by Katapult Climate; Norwegian climate impact fund and 216 Capital; the newly incorporated VC fund in Tunisia; with the participation of Launch Africa Venture; Africa’s most active investors; alongside Cross Boundary; international advisory and investment firm and a strategic Business Angel from KSA. The round also recorded a follow-up investment coming from Oman Technology Fund, an initial investor in Wattnow.
Established in 2018 by Issam Smaali, Wattnow helps companies take control and optimize their energy usage and extend the lifetime of their assets in order to reduce costs and carbon footprint. The core mission is to make a robust and accessible energy efficiency technology for both industrials, commercial buildings, and corporations. This fundraise adds new names to its consortium of strategic investors including Flat6Labs, Kepple Africa Ventures, Oman Technology Fund, and a selection of business angels from the Bridging Angels network.
This round remains in congruence with the average Pre-Series A round size as recorded in our MENA 2022 Venture Investment Report. Over the past year, the average Pre-Series A round jumped by 133% YoY to average $1.4M in 2021, while the most remarkable uptick remains in the Series A funding stage. Despite a 3-year consecutive slump in Early-Stage deals (<$500K) in MENA and across EVMs dropping by 20PP in share of total transactions between 2017-2021, MENA’s SEED rounds between 21’ and 22 still gain the highest proportion of transactions. By 2022 YTD, SEED rounds account for 31% of total transactions closed in the region.
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Despite the pandemic, the startup managed to keep its exponential sales growth, scoring market leaders in its portfolio all coming across several sectors, such as retail, telcos, or banks, and industries, such as aeronautics, cement plants, or even pharmaceuticals .“In a world where energy costs are increasing week after week, Wattnow's platform and technology have the potential to help businesses significantly reduce their energy bill and their impact on the environment. We are very excited to support Issam and the Wattnow team in their exciting journey,” said Dhekra Khelifi, Partner at 216 Capital.
Besides boosting local sales serving a variety of segments, Wattnow will be deploying a part of the funds into its internationalization, targeting markets in Africa and in the Middle East, while always keeping an eye on where the environmental impact can be the highest. “This round will play a major role in helping us take Wattnow to the next level. As a 100% Tunisian startup, the whole team is very proud to have been able to make it to this stage, and the best is yet to come,” concluded Issam Smaali, CEO of Wattnow.
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