SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has obtained the first disbursement from a brand new US $11m syndicated debt facility to expand its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new loan is groundbreaking for the productive use solar sector because of its size and its revolutionary mixture of working capital and end-user financing.
Arranged by SunFunder, the co-investors within the facility are Nordic Development Fund; Triodos Investment Management, by way of its Hivos-Triodos Fund; SunFunder by way of its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi via both its SocialAlpha and AlphaJiri Investment Funds; and the AfDB’s FEI OGEF managed b Lions Head.
This will allow SunCulture to scale up renewable vitality installations at smallholder farms and households that ill mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 annually as farmers replace diesel pumps with solar ones while facilitating earnings growth and job alternatives in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro business model to make solar-powered irrigation affordable for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added services, trendy climate technology, and access to enhance productivity. A latest report developed b Dalberg Research reveals that irrigation techniques and solar-powered water pumps can increase farmers manufacturing between 2 and four occasions, and their income between 2 and 6 instances.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps throughout Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, stated: “The previous year was devastating for the hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse monetary position due to the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, however, have been able to increase their revenue from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create meals security and sovereignty, and it additionally helps carry folks out of poverty. This facility additional enables our efforts to support farmers by offering them with more of our photo voltaic solutions, and quicker.”
Jemimah Kwakye-Fosu, Investment Officer, who led the transaction for SunFunder, stated: “We are delighted to have led this syndicate of proactive lenders who labored well together for a standard aim: to help SunCulture reach man more farmers. It exhibits how working capital can be mixed with finish consumer financing, which is important for making productive use technologies inexpensive.”
Surabhi Mathur Visser, Head of Investments at SunFunder, said: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use technologies like photo voltaic irrigation could be scaled up. SunFunder organized this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to assist an innovative product and enterprise mannequin. We sit up for seeing SunCulture develop in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, stated: “This loan to SunCulture is the second prolonged to a company graduating from the EEP Trust Fund managed by NDF. It is a clear demonstration that we will deliver on the new NDF Strategy and its commitment to offer flexible and scalable financing in addition to catalytic influence. ร้านซ่อมเครื่องวัดความดันomron has all of the ingredients that outline NDFs added value within the climate financing panorama. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise additional financing, in addition to our distinctive mi of financing devices to match the needs of our partners, public or private. We are proud to be standing with our partners and supporting the emergence of a greener financial system, exactly at this time of COVID-19.
Since our first investment in 2019, SunCulture has made big strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture via revolutionary products and consumer credit. FEI-OGEF is happy to have the ability to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and proceed that progress alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, noted Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture companion with Togo to speed up access to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, mentioned: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively supplied assist to SunCulture by way of a mixture of technical assistance and debt investment. We are excited to proceed and improve our funding in the company via this new, progressive working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, mentioned: “SunCulture is a good example of an progressive company that is active on the nexus of renewable energy and agriculture, utilizing photo voltaic power to extend farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the additional growth of SunCultures pay-as-you-go solar portfolio, resulting in a more sustainable and higher manufacturing for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and actions of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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