Chicago clean energy startup gets big backing

The Clean Energy Trust has recognized the work of Chicago’s Sigora International startup with a $200,000 backing, according to American Inno. Sigora helps developing countries like Haiti manage their energy resources by installing clean energy micro-grids in places where there was no electricity before. The startup was first created in 2016 and was initially located in San Francisco before relocating to Chicago. This latest securement of funds is part of a larger Series A round of funding that the startup is going through currently. The startup has been influential in its first few years of existence, having already served electricity and power to 20,000 people with a few thousand electrical units. “We’re excited to be building a Chicago base for continued research and development into clean tech and to be part of what Clean Energy Trust is doing in building a larger ecosystem and widening the tent for companies like ours to get a foothold in the Midwest,” said Frank Bergh, the vice president of grid engineering at Sigora. The company employs 50 people in Haiti where it has an international headquarters. There are plans to soon expand into African and Caribbean markets as well to start installing the solar micro-grids there. “The incredible gains that have been made by clean energy in the U.S. and globally are really constrained by infrastructure in developing countries and frontier markets, where infrastructure has not evolved to the point where we can even keep the lights on for 24 hours at a time,” Bergh said. “In Haiti, people have power for usually less than eight hours a day, even in the capital city.”