SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation firm headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has acquired the first 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 measurement and its revolutionary combination of working capital and end-user financing.
Arranged by SunFunder, the co-investors within 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 vitality installations at smallholder farms and households that sick mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 yearly as farmers substitute diesel pumps with solar ones while facilitating earnings progress and job opportunities in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro enterprise mannequin to make solar-powered irrigation reasonably priced for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added companies, fashionable local weather expertise, and access to enhance productiveness. A current report developed b Dalberg Research shows that irrigation systems and solar-powered water pumps can enhance farmers manufacturing between 2 and 4 instances, and their earnings between 2 and 6 occasions.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps across Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, said: “The previous yr was devastating for the hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse monetary position because of the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, nonetheless, were capable of increase their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food safety and sovereignty, and it also helps carry folks out of poverty. This facility additional allows our efforts to assist farmers by offering them with extra of our solar options, 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 nicely together for a typical aim: to assist SunCulture reach man extra farmers. It shows how working capital can be combined with end person financing, which is crucial for making productive use applied sciences inexpensive.”
เกจวัดแรงดูด , 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 assist an revolutionary product and enterprise mannequin. We sit up for seeing SunCulture grow in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, mentioned: “This loan to SunCulture is the second prolonged 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 dedication to provide versatile and scalable financing as properly as catalytic impression. It has all the components that outline NDFs added value in the local weather financing landscape. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise further financing, as well as our distinctive mi of financing devices to match the needs of our partners, public or private. We are proud to be standing with our partners and supporting the emergence of a greener financial system, precisely right now of COVID-19.
Since our first funding in 2019, SunCulture has made large strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture via revolutionary products and consumer credit. FEI-OGEF is pleased to have the ability to refinance our inventor loan into this new working capital facility and continue that growth alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, noted Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture associate with Togo to hurry up access to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, mentioned: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively offered help to SunCulture by way of a mixture of technical help and debt funding. We are excited to continue and increase our investment in the company via this new, revolutionary working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, stated: “SunCulture is a good instance of an progressive firm that is lively on the nexus of renewable vitality and agriculture, utilizing photo voltaic power to increase farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the additional development of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, resulting in a extra sustainable and higher production for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and activities of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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