SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has acquired the primary disbursement from a brand new US $11m syndicated debt facility to broaden its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new mortgage is groundbreaking for the productive use photo voltaic sector because of its dimension and its progressive 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 through its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi via 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 annually as farmers replace diesel pumps with photo voltaic ones whilst facilitating revenue development 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, fashionable local weather know-how, and access to enhance productivity. A recent report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation methods and solar-powered water pumps can increase farmers production between 2 and 4 times, 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, said: “The past yr was devastating for the tens of millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse financial position because of the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, however, had been in a position to improve their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food security and sovereignty, and it also helps lift individuals out of poverty. This facility further permits our efforts to help farmers by offering them with extra of our photo voltaic solutions, and sooner.”
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 collectively for a typical objective: to assist SunCulture attain man more farmers. It shows how working capital can be mixed with end person financing, which is essential for making productive use applied sciences reasonably priced.”
Surabhi Mathur Visser, Head of Investments at SunFunder, stated: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use applied sciences like photo voltaic irrigation could be scaled up. SunFunder arranged this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to assist an revolutionary product and business mannequin. We sit up for seeing SunCulture grow in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, stated: “This mortgage to SunCulture is the second extended to an organization 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 versatile and scalable financing in addition to catalytic influence. It has all of the ingredients that outline NDFs added value in the local weather financing panorama. เกจวัดความดันpressuregauge demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise extra financing, as properly as our distinctive mi of financing instruments to match the needs 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, exactly at this time 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 client credit. FEI-OGEF is pleased to be able to refinance our inventor loan into this new working capital facility and proceed that development alongside a dedicated and constructive group of lenders, famous Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture associate with Togo to hurry up entry to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, said: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively provided help to SunCulture through a mixture of technical assistance and debt funding. We are excited to continue and enhance our funding in the firm through this new, revolutionary working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, said: “SunCulture is a good example of an revolutionary company that’s energetic on the nexus of renewable vitality and agriculture, using photo voltaic power to increase farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the additional development of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, leading to a extra 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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