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§ Private Profile · Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Okra is a technology company.
Okra Solar develops mesh-grid technology, integrating IoT hardware and software to deliver last-mile energy solutions. Its core product creates smart solar grids, facilitating affordable, reliable electricity access in off-grid and remote areas. This technology decentralizes energy distribution, enabling communities to generate and share power efficiently.
Afnan Hannan and Damian Veling co-founded Okra Solar in 2016. Their insight derived from the critical need to electrify rural households, particularly across Southeast Asia, where traditional grid infrastructure is often infeasible. They established the company to address this energy access gap through innovative technological solutions.
Energy developers utilize Okra Solar's mesh-grid technology for projects in underserved regions. The company's vision is to unlock the economic and social potential of villages by providing sustainable and affordable electricity. It aims to empower communities through energy independence and foster development via distributed renewable energy systems.
Okra has raised $6.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Okra has raised $6.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Okra has raised $6.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Okra's investors include Susa Ventures, Accenture, AME Cloud Ventures, BoxGroup, Hardware Club, Threshold Ventures, TIDE Africa Fund, TLcom Capital, Arpan Shah, Hongxia Zhong, Mr. Rob Solomon, Ido Sum.
Okra has raised $6.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $4.0M Seed in April 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2021 | $4M Seed | Susa Ventures | Accenture, AME Cloud Ventures, BoxGroup, Hardware Club, Threshold Ventures, Tide Africa Fund, TLcom Capital, Arpan Shah, Hongxia Zhong, MR. ROB Solomon | Announced |
| Apr 27, 2020 | $1M Pre Seed | IDO SUM | — | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2019 | $1M Seed | — | TLcom Capital, Varsha RAO, Marco Demeireles, Nasdaq Ventures, Stanton Green, Tide Africa Fund, Tribeca Venture Partners | Announced |
OKRA.ai (also referred to as OKRA Technologies) is a Cambridge, UK-based AI company founded in 2015 that builds "intelligent AI brains" for the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry. It develops AI-powered data analytics platforms that extract, connect, and enrich complex datasets to deliver predictions, suggestions, and explanations—such as drug price prediction, medical affairs strategy, sentiment analysis, and sales/marketing optimization—helping bring the right drug to the right patient faster.[1][2][3][6] The company serves pharmaceutical executives, operational teams, and life sciences professionals, solving challenges in drug creation, commercialization, and personalized healthcare by providing humanized, explainable AI insights rather than black-box outputs.[1][2][3] OKRA.ai raised $4.16M before being acquired by Envision Pharma in February 2023, and it demonstrated strong growth, earning a spot on Deloitte's UK Technology Fast 50 in 2022 with partnerships like an extended deal with Bristol Myers Squibb.[1][2]
OKRA.ai was founded in 2015 by Loubna Bouarfa, a prominent AI expert and member of the European High Level Expert Group on AI, who serves as CEO. Bouarfa, based in Cambridge, UK (with additional presence in Leiden, Netherlands), launched the company to address gaps in life sciences where traditional methods failed to innovate, drawing on her vision for trustworthy, ethical AI.[1][3][6] The idea emerged from a need to integrate vast datasets and deliver user-centric insights across the drug lifecycle, transforming "playing music without sheets" into structured, actionable intelligence for pharma.[1][3] Early traction built through agile development and a focus on explainable AI, leading to scalable products; pivotal moments included Deloitte Fast 50 recognition in 2022, a 50:50 gender split in its 30+ employee team (rare in tech), and the 2023 acquisition by Envision Pharma, which amplified its reach.[1][2]
OKRA.ai rides the AI-in-healthcare wave, particularly explainable AI for precision medicine and life sciences, amid rising demand for data-driven drug personalization post-pandemic. Timing aligns with global regulatory pushes like Europe's AI Act (which Bouarfa helped shape), enabling trustworthy adoption in pharma where data silos and ethics slow progress.[1][3] Market forces favoring it include exploding life sciences data volumes, partnerships with giants like Bristol Myers Squibb, and the 2023 acquisition by Envision Pharma, which integrates OKRA's tech into broader evidence ecosystems.[1][2] It influences the ecosystem by setting standards for ethical AI scalability, accelerating drug-to-patient pipelines, and inspiring competitors like Sorcero or Aridhia in medical insights and research platforms.[2]
Post-acquisition by Envision Pharma, OKRA.ai's tech will likely expand globally, powering enhanced analytics for pharma commercialization amid trends like multimodal AI and real-world evidence integration. Rising AI governance (e.g., EU strategies) and precision medicine demand position it to deepen impact, potentially influencing decentralized health data trends. As Envision evolves, OKRA.ai could redefine "right drug, right patient" at scale, building on its agile DNA to outpace black-box rivals—echoing Bouarfa's vision of unleashing AI to save lives.[1][2][3]