SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has obtained the primary disbursement from a model new US $11m syndicated debt facility to increase its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new loan is groundbreaking for the productive use photo voltaic sector as a result of its measurement and its revolutionary mixture of working capital and end-user financing.
Arranged by SunFunder, the co-investors in the facility are Nordic Development Fund; Triodos Investment Management, by way of its Hivos-Triodos Fund; SunFunder via its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi through 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 energy installations at smallholder farms and households that unwell mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 yearly as farmers exchange diesel pumps with solar ones while facilitating revenue growth and job alternatives in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro business model to make solar-powered irrigation reasonably priced for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added companies, fashionable climate know-how, and entry to improve productivity. A recent report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation techniques and solar-powered water pumps can improve farmers production between 2 and 4 instances, and their income between 2 and 6 occasions.
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Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, stated: “The previous yr was devastating for the tens of millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse monetary position as a end result of pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, however, were capable of enhance their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food safety and sovereignty, and it additionally helps lift individuals out of poverty. This facility further enables our efforts to help farmers by providing them with extra of our photo voltaic solutions, and sooner.”
Jemimah Kwakye-Fosu, Investment Officer, who led the transaction for SunFunder, mentioned: “We are delighted to have led this syndicate of proactive lenders who worked properly collectively for a typical goal: to assist SunCulture attain man extra farmers. It shows how working capital may be mixed with end person financing, which is crucial for making productive use applied sciences inexpensive.”
Surabhi Mathur Visser, Head of Investments at SunFunder, mentioned: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use technologies like photo voltaic irrigation can be scaled up. SunFunder arranged this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an progressive product and business mannequin. We look ahead to seeing SunCulture grow in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, mentioned: “This loan to SunCulture is the second extended to a company graduating from the EEP Trust Fund managed by NDF. It is a transparent demonstration that we will deliver on the new NDF Strategy and its commitment to supply versatile and scalable financing in addition to catalytic impression. It has all of the elements that define NDFs added worth within the climate financing panorama. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise extra financing, as nicely as our distinctive mi of financing devices to match the wants of our companions, public or non-public. We are proud to be standing with our partners and supporting the emergence of a greener economic system, precisely presently of COVID-19.
Since our first funding in 2019, SunCulture has made large strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture by way of revolutionary merchandise and client credit score. FEI-OGEF is happy to have the flexibility to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and continue that development alongside a dedicated and constructive group of lenders, famous Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture partner with Togo to speed up access to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, said: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively provided assist to SunCulture through a mixture of technical help and debt funding. ไดอะแฟรม are excited to continue and enhance our funding in the company by way of this new, innovative working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, mentioned: “SunCulture is a superb example of an progressive company that’s lively on the nexus of renewable vitality and agriculture, utilizing solar vitality to extend farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the further progress of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, leading to a more sustainable and better manufacturing for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and activities of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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