SunCulture, a solar irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has acquired the primary disbursement from a model new US $11m syndicated debt facility to increase its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new mortgage is groundbreaking for the productive use solar sector as a end result of its measurement and its innovative 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 through its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi by way of 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 energy installations at smallholder farms and households that unwell mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 yearly as farmers replace diesel pumps with photo voltaic ones while facilitating revenue growth and job opportunities in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro enterprise model to make solar-powered irrigation affordable for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added companies, modern climate technology, and entry to enhance productivity. A current report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation techniques and solar-powered water pumps can enhance farmers production between 2 and four times, and their earnings between 2 and 6 times.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps across Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, mentioned: “The past 12 months was devastating for the hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse monetary position as a outcome of pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, nonetheless, have been capable of improve their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food safety and sovereignty, and it also helps raise people out of poverty. This facility further allows our efforts to support farmers by providing them with more of our solar options, and quicker.”
Jemimah Kwakye-Fosu, Investment Officer, who led the transaction for SunFunder, said: “We are delighted to have led this syndicate of proactive lenders who labored well together for a typical objective: to assist SunCulture attain man extra farmers. It reveals how working capital may be combined with end user financing, which is important 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 solar irrigation can be scaled up. SunFunder organized this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an progressive product and enterprise mannequin. We look ahead to seeing SunCulture grow in Kenya and ne markets.
เพรสเชอร์เกจ , Managing Director at NDF, stated: “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 provide flexible and scalable financing as well as catalytic influence. It has all of the ingredients that define NDFs added worth in the local weather financing panorama. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise further financing, as nicely as our distinctive mi of financing instruments to match the wants of our partners, public or non-public. We are proud to be standing with our companions and supporting the emergence of a greener financial system, precisely presently of COVID-19.
Since our first investment in 2019, SunCulture has made big strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture through revolutionary products and client credit score. FEI-OGEF is joyful to have the ability to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and continue that progress alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, noted 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, mentioned: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively provided assist to SunCulture through a combination of technical assistance and debt funding. We are excited to proceed and increase our investment within the company through this new, revolutionary working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, mentioned: “SunCulture is a good instance of an progressive company that’s lively on the nexus of renewable power and agriculture, using solar vitality to extend farmers’ incomes. pressure gauge helps the additional progress of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, leading to a more sustainable and higher production for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and actions of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
Share