SunCulture, a solar irrigation firm headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has received the primary disbursement from a brand new US $11m syndicated debt facility to increase its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
pressure gauge is groundbreaking for the productive use photo voltaic sector as a outcome of its dimension and its innovative combination of working capital and end-user financing.
Arranged by pressure gauge 10 bar , 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 both its SocialAlpha and AlphaJiri Investment Funds; and the AfDB’s FEI OGEF managed b Lions Head.
This will enable SunCulture to scale up renewable vitality installations at smallholder farms and households that unwell mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 yearly as farmers exchange diesel pumps with photo voltaic ones whilst facilitating revenue progress and job opportunities in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro business model to make solar-powered irrigation inexpensive for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added companies, modern climate technology, 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 instances.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps throughout Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, said: “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, nonetheless, have been capable of enhance their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food safety and sovereignty, and it also helps lift individuals out of poverty. This facility additional enables our efforts to assist farmers by offering them with extra of our photo voltaic options, and quicker.”
Jemimah Kwakye-Fosu, Investment Officer, who led the transaction for SunFunder, mentioned: “We are delighted to have led this syndicate of proactive lenders who labored nicely collectively for a common objective: to assist SunCulture attain man more farmers. It exhibits how working capital may be combined with finish user financing, which is crucial for making productive use applied sciences inexpensive.”
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 arranged this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to assist an progressive product and business model. 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 extended to a company graduating from the EEP Trust Fund managed by NDF. It is a clear demonstration that we can deliver on the brand new NDF Strategy and its commitment to supply flexible and scalable financing in addition to catalytic impact. It has all of the elements that outline NDFs added worth in the local weather financing landscape. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise additional financing, in addition to our distinctive mi of financing instruments to match the needs of our companions, public or personal. We are proud to be standing with our partners and supporting the emergence of a greener economy, exactly right now of COVID-19.
Since our first investment in 2019, SunCulture has made big strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture by way of innovative products and consumer credit. FEI-OGEF is joyful to have the flexibility to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and continue that progress alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, famous Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture partner 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 via a combination of technical assistance and debt investment. We are excited to continue and improve our funding in the company by way of this new, revolutionary working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, said: “SunCulture is a good example of an progressive firm that is active on the nexus of renewable energy and agriculture, utilizing solar energy to increase farmers’ incomes. Our facility helps the additional growth of SunCultures pay-as-you-go solar portfolio, leading to a more sustainable and higher manufacturing for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and activities of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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