Close Menu

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Nedbank’s $93M iKhokha acquisition signals African banks shifting from fintech partnerships to ownership for SME market control

    August 24, 2025

    Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

    April 7, 2025

    SA NjiaPay Gets $1.3 Million Funding Boost To Scale Payments Services In South Africa

    April 7, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Threads
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • US News
    • Politics
    • Buy Now
    Startup News Africa
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    • Home
    • Features
      • Contact
    • Startups

      Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

      April 7, 2025

      SA NjiaPay Gets $1.3 Million Funding Boost To Scale Payments Services In South Africa

      April 7, 2025

      How Gro Intelligence Shut Down Amidst Financial Headwinds

      April 4, 2025

      Kofa To Cover Africa’s Energy Sector With Innovative Solutions

      April 1, 2025

      The Journey of Mark Mwangi’s Amitruck On Rough Terrain

      March 27, 2025
    • Typography
    • Politics
      1. Lifestyle
      2. US News
      3. World News
      4. View All
    • Buy Now
    Startup News Africa
    Home»Startups»Hohm Energy Enters Business Rescue Months After $8 Million Raise
    Startups

    Hohm Energy Enters Business Rescue Months After $8 Million Raise

    Samuel IgeBy Samuel IgeAugust 10, 2024Updated:October 8, 2024No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Months after announcing an $8 million seed funding round, South African solar company Hohm Energy is currently in a non-operational state due to cash flow problems and an embarrassing inability to service existing debts.

    The company has filed for business rescue, a process that helps financially struggling companies get help. Additionally, it has laid off an undisclosed number of employees. “We are working with legal counsel to get a better understanding of a way forward, but Hohm is currently not trading,” Franc Gray, CEO of Hohm’s parent company, Spark Energy, told TechCabal.

    According to the South African legal process, business rescue lasts three months. Within that time, a business rescue practitioner must investigate the company’s affairs, convene a meeting of creditors, and advise on the company’s prospects.

    In addition to the financial woes surrounding the company, CEO Tim Ohlsen left the company the previous week, according to reports from insiders. After Ohlsen’s resignation, managing director Ryan Steytler took over the company leadership and decided to put the business into business rescue. Gray accuses Steytler of making the decision unilaterally and against shareholder advice.At the time of this writing, neither Steytler nor Ohlsen could not be reached for comments.

    Founded in 2021, Hohm Energy’s flagship product is a solar marketplace that lets customers digitally determine their solar energy requirements and access loans for rooftop solar installation. The platform also enabled solar installers to design, manage, and finance projects. As South Africa’s load shedding worsened, renewable energy alternatives like Hohm enjoyed more demand.

    By February 2024, the company claimed to have generated over 17,000 custom solar rooftop designs worth $190M and $90M in financing applications to implement them. Ohlsen told TechCabal in February the company was on track to be profitable by the end of 2024.

    Hohm rapidly increased its headcount in anticipation of growing demand for solar, said Bas Hochstenbach, managing partner of E4E Africa, one of Hohm’s investors.

    However, as grid electricity improved in South Africa, Hohm’s business started to show the first signs of cracks. “Hohm had a lot of sticky costs and could not act quickly enough to restructure that cost base as revenue tapered off because of slowing demand for solar,” said Gray.

    Hohm also had lax governance structures in its early days which impacted the efficiency of its operating model. It only formed a board in early 2024 ahead of its seed round, said one investor who asked not to be named so they could speak freely.

    Gray also claimed there could have been more transparent reporting of the company’s health by Hohm’s management, which would have enabled Spark to offer sufficient help.

    “At the moment, the goal is to create the best outcome for all parties concerned in a situation that is not ideal,” one investor said.

    Parent company Spark plans to invest more money in the business after the rescue process. However, this will only occur under a new business model and management team.

    African Startups
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Samuel Ige

    Related Posts

    Nedbank’s $93M iKhokha acquisition signals African banks shifting from fintech partnerships to ownership for SME market control

    August 24, 2025

    Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

    April 7, 2025

    SA NjiaPay Gets $1.3 Million Funding Boost To Scale Payments Services In South Africa

    April 7, 2025
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Demo
    Top Posts

    The Journey of Mark Mwangi’s Amitruck On Rough Terrain

    March 27, 20254 Views

    Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

    April 7, 20253 Views

    Kenya’s Mobius Motors Survives Financial Crisis, Gets Acquired By Silver Box In Rescue Bid

    March 11, 20253 Views
    Don't Miss

    Nedbank’s $93M iKhokha acquisition signals African banks shifting from fintech partnerships to ownership for SME market control

    By Ebuka OkaforAugust 24, 20250

    Nedbank finalized an all-cash acquisition of Durban-based fintech iKhokha for approximately R1.65 billion (around $93…

    Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

    April 7, 2025

    SA NjiaPay Gets $1.3 Million Funding Boost To Scale Payments Services In South Africa

    April 7, 2025

    How Gro Intelligence Shut Down Amidst Financial Headwinds

    April 4, 2025
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • TikTok
    • WhatsApp
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    Top Trending
    Demo
    Most Popular

    The Journey of Mark Mwangi’s Amitruck On Rough Terrain

    March 27, 20254 Views

    Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

    April 7, 20253 Views

    Kenya’s Mobius Motors Survives Financial Crisis, Gets Acquired By Silver Box In Rescue Bid

    March 11, 20253 Views
    Our Picks

    Nedbank’s $93M iKhokha acquisition signals African banks shifting from fintech partnerships to ownership for SME market control

    August 24, 2025

    Easter Comes Early: 25 African SMEs To Get $500k in New Fund

    April 7, 2025

    SA NjiaPay Gets $1.3 Million Funding Boost To Scale Payments Services In South Africa

    April 7, 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • US News
    • Politics
    • Buy Now
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.