SunCulture, a solar irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has obtained the primary disbursement from a new US $11m syndicated debt facility to expand its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new mortgage is groundbreaking for the productive use solar sector as a end result of its dimension and its revolutionary combination 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 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 enable SunCulture to scale up renewable power installations at smallholder farms and households that sick mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 yearly as farmers replace diesel pumps with photo voltaic ones whilst facilitating revenue progress 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 providers, trendy local weather technology, and entry to improve productivity. A latest report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation methods and solar-powered water pumps can enhance farmers production between 2 and four times, and their earnings between 2 and 6 occasions.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps throughout 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 financial place because of the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, nevertheless, were able to enhance their revenue from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food security and sovereignty, and it also helps carry folks out of poverty. This facility additional permits our efforts to support farmers by providing them with extra of our solar options, 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 nicely collectively for a typical goal: to assist SunCulture attain man extra farmers. It shows how working capital could be combined with end person financing, which is important 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 applied sciences like solar irrigation could be scaled up. SunFunder arranged this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to assist an progressive product and enterprise model. We look ahead to seeing SunCulture develop in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, said: “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 new NDF Strategy and its commitment to supply versatile and scalable financing as well as catalytic impact. It has all the components that outline NDFs added worth within the climate financing landscape. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise additional financing, as properly as our distinctive mi of financing instruments to match the wants of our companions, public or personal. We are proud to be standing with our partners and supporting the emergence of a greener economic system, exactly right now of COVID-19.
Since our first funding in 2019, SunCulture has made huge strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture via innovative products and client credit. FEI-OGEF is joyful to be able to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and continue that growth alongside a dedicated and constructive group of lenders, famous 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, said: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively offered assist to SunCulture by way of a mix of technical assistance and debt funding. We are excited to continue and increase our funding in the firm by way of this new, innovative working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, said: “SunCulture is a superb example of an progressive firm that’s lively on the nexus of renewable energy and agriculture, utilizing solar vitality to extend farmers’ incomes. เกจวัดแรงดันน้ำ4หุน helps the further development of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, resulting in a extra 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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