eFriends – how cooperative ventures are successfully established

eFriends offers an innovative platform technology that enables users to share self-produced solar power with other users in real time. This works via a new type of technology that can be easily installed in the distribution box. By acquiring its stake, RWA sent a clear signal of support for innovation and for sustainable approaches based on cooperative start-ups, especially in the current challenging situation. This partnership pursues the goals of jointly promoting solar power and other renewable forms of energy and of networking regional producers.

Several years ago, eFriends founder and CEO Matthias Katt had the idea of developing a technology that would enable anyone and everyone to share domestically produced solar power with others in real time and regardless of location. On the basis of these initial approaches and ideas, eFriends Energy GmbH finally emerged as a supplier of green electricity in 2018. Two years later, RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria has now taken a stake of around 24 per cent in eFriends Energy GmbH – which includes 500 households and is Austria’s largest energy community – through its corporate venture capital company, RWA Invest GmbH. RWA, together with a number of associated companies, is an important energy and electricity supplier, especially in the rural regions of Austria, and has also been active in the construction of large-scale photovoltaic plants since the beginning of the year through its subsidiary RWA Solar Solutions.

We are delighted that we are repeatedly able to track down interesting start-ups in a wide variety of market segments and to successfully offer these to consumers as part of our group structure. Because, alongside our more specific programs, we are always keen and able to get involved in individual cooperative ventures: https://www.agroinnovationlab.com/contact/