Cloover secures 114 million euros in a new round of financing

The start-up wants to enable photovoltaic installers to compete with large online retailers in the private systems market. In addition to financing, the focus is on software support.

The founders of Cloover (from left): Valentin Gönczy, Jodok Betschart and Peder Broms.

Photo: Cloover

The company, which is active in Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and, since last autumn, Germany, wants to bring together all relevant participants in the market for private photovoltaic systems - "installers, prosumers, manufacturers, energy suppliers and investors". Here, in Germany, the focus of growth is now even to be here, for which 114 million euros were acquired in seed financing to cover capital requirements in the early phase. The company wants to use the money to "double software development for installers and further expand the sales, payment and financing offerings," according to the announcement about the financing round.

Cloover, with its German headquarters in Berlin, offers small and medium-sized installation companies software as well as sales and financing solutions for their end customer business. The companies will continue to operate independently, but will be given the means to better compete with large, national or even international sales companies. After all, 85 percent of all installations are still carried out by small and medium-sized companies. The Cloover software gives this target group "the same sophisticated digital tools that have long been available to large companies."

When it comes to financing, partner companies can use Cloover to offer their customers installment payments, and if desired, also with an all-round service package for operating the system. The installment payments can be cancelled at any time without additional payments, so that from that moment on the system is fully owned by the customer. The service contracts can still continue.

The financing round was led by Lowercarbon Capital. Shawn Xu, a partner at the international investor specializing in companies that reduce CO2 emissions, will join Cloover's board of directors. Two other investors, 9900 Capital and QED, have increased their existing stakes. However, Cloover has already moved beyond its initial stages and says it has several hundred partner companies across Europe with a "sales pipeline that exceeds three billion dollars."