SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation firm headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has received the primary disbursement from a new US $11m syndicated debt facility to increase its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new loan is groundbreaking for the productive use solar sector as a outcome of its measurement and its progressive combination 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 through its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi by way of each its SocialAlpha and AlphaJiri Investment Funds; and the AfDB’s FEI OGEF managed b Lions Head.
This will enable SunCulture to scale up renewable energy installations at smallholder farms and households that ill mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 yearly as farmers exchange diesel pumps with solar ones whilst facilitating income progress and job opportunities 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 providers, trendy climate expertise, and entry to improve productiveness. A recent report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation systems and solar-powered water pumps can improve farmers production between 2 and 4 occasions, and their revenue between 2 and 6 occasions.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps across Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, stated: “The past year was devastating for the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse monetary position as a end result of pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, nonetheless, were able to enhance their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food safety and sovereignty, and it additionally helps raise individuals out of poverty. This facility additional enables our efforts to support farmers by providing them with more of our solar solutions, and faster.”
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 nicely collectively for a standard goal: to assist SunCulture attain man more farmers. It shows how working capital may be mixed with finish user financing, which is important for making productive use applied sciences inexpensive.”
เกจแรงดันลม , Head of Investments at SunFunder, stated: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use technologies like photo voltaic irrigation may be scaled up. SunFunder organized this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an revolutionary product and business model. We look ahead to seeing SunCulture develop in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, mentioned: “This mortgage to SunCulture is the second prolonged to a company graduating from the EEP Trust Fund managed by NDF. It is a transparent demonstration that we can ship on the model new NDF Strategy and its commitment to offer flexible and scalable financing as properly as catalytic impact. It has all of the elements that define NDFs added value within the climate financing landscape. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise extra financing, in addition to our distinctive mi of financing instruments to match the wants of our partners, public or private. We are proud to be standing with our companions and supporting the emergence of a greener financial system, exactly right now of COVID-19.
Since our first investment in 2019, SunCulture has made huge strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture by way of revolutionary merchandise and shopper credit score. FEI-OGEF is joyful to have the power to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and continue that development alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, famous Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture associate with Togo to speed up entry to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, said: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively offered help to SunCulture through a mix of technical help and debt funding. We are excited to proceed and enhance our investment in the company via this new, progressive working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, said: “SunCulture is a great instance of an revolutionary company that is lively on the nexus of renewable power and agriculture, utilizing photo voltaic energy to increase farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the further progress of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, leading to a more sustainable and better production for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and activities of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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