TECH startup Solx Technologies, Inc. received a P22-million investment from the National Development Co.’s (NDC) Startup Venture Fund (SVF) and a Japanese venture capital firm as it aims to deliver cheaper energy to businesses in the Philippines.
On Tuesday, the tech startup signed a memorandum of understanding with NDC and Japan’s Real Tech Holdings Co., Ltd., marking the first deployment of the SVF and the Japanese company’s first investment in a Philippine company.
The SVF, which is being implemented by NDC, was created under the Innovative Startup Act, which allows the Philippine government along with an accredited co-investment partner to invest in locally registered startups.
As part of the deal, Solx will receive a P22-million equity investment equally shared by the two entities, bringing the startup’s total capital raised from outside investors to $800,000.
Sergius U. Santos, chief executive officer of Solx, said the company can lower energy costs for local businesses by connecting them to the right supplier.
“We provide a demand-supply matching platform and an analytics platform that allows you to be connected with the right-fit suppliers or a group of suppliers, basically allowing you to get the cheapest possible or the most affordable, or the fittest energy contract for you,” Mr. Santos said.
With its portfolio of more than 50 facilities, the company said it had been able to save its clients around P400 million in energy costs.
Its largest client has a monthly bill of P40 million to P50 million and a power requirement of 8 megawatts. The total power requirement of its clients is 150 megawatts.
Matt Levin A. Tan, chief operations officer of Solx, said the company “recognizes the vital role [it] plays in not only bringing down energy costs but also supporting businesses’ path to sustainability in the long term.”
“Energy will always be a critical part of zero carbon plans, and we hope to guide businesses in achieving both energy cost and emissions reduction,” he added.
The officials said they can help clients save 25% to 40% in energy costs, on average.
In the future, Mr. Santos said the company is planning to bring down the platform to the household level. To be the startup’s client, a power user must have a monthly electricity bill of at least P150,000.
“At some point in the future, the goal is to be able to bring it down all the way to the household level,” he said, adding that the government does not see the move as “something that everyone can undertake so we need to benchmark it first to large scale users.” — Justine Irish D. Tabile
