SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has received the primary disbursement from a 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 measurement 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, through its Hivos-Triodos Fund; SunFunder via its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi through each 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 sick mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 annually as farmers substitute diesel pumps with solar ones whilst facilitating income progress and job opportunities in rural communities.
เพรสเชอร์เกจดิจิตอล has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro business mannequin to make solar-powered irrigation affordable for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added companies, fashionable local weather know-how, and access to improve productiveness. A latest report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation techniques and solar-powered water pumps can enhance farmers manufacturing between 2 and 4 times, and their revenue between 2 and 6 instances.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps across Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, said: “The past year was devastating for the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse financial place due to the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, however, have been capable of enhance their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food safety and sovereignty, and it also helps lift people out of poverty. This facility further enables our efforts to help farmers by providing them with more of our solar 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 properly together for a common goal: to assist SunCulture reach man extra farmers. It exhibits how working capital could be mixed with end consumer financing, which is crucial for making productive use technologies reasonably priced.”
Surabhi Mathur Visser, Head of Investments at SunFunder, stated: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use technologies like solar irrigation can be scaled up. SunFunder organized this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an progressive product and enterprise model. We look forward to seeing SunCulture grow in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, said: “This mortgage to SunCulture is the second extended to an organization graduating from the EEP Trust Fund managed by NDF. It is a transparent demonstration that we can ship on the brand new NDF Strategy and its commitment to provide flexible and scalable financing in addition to catalytic impact. It has all the elements that define NDFs added worth within the climate financing panorama. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise additional financing, in addition to our distinctive mi of financing instruments 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 economy, precisely right now 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 shopper credit score. FEI-OGEF is pleased to be เกจ์อาร์กอนsumo 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 companion with Togo to hurry up entry to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, mentioned: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively supplied help to SunCulture through a mixture of technical help and debt investment. We are excited to continue and increase our investment within the firm via this new, progressive working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, stated: “SunCulture is a superb example of an progressive firm that’s lively on the nexus of renewable power and agriculture, utilizing photo voltaic vitality to extend farmers’ incomes. Our facility helps the further development of SunCultures pay-as-you-go solar portfolio, resulting in a extra sustainable and better manufacturing for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and actions of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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