SunCulture, a solar irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has obtained the first disbursement from a new US $11m syndicated debt facility to broaden its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new loan is groundbreaking for the productive use photo voltaic sector because of its measurement and its progressive combination of working capital and end-user financing.
Arranged by เกจวัดแรงดัน , the co-investors within the facility are Nordic Development Fund; Triodos Investment Management, via its Hivos-Triodos Fund; SunFunder through its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi through both its SocialAlpha and AlphaJiri Investment Funds; and the AfDB’s FEI OGEF managed b Lions Head.
This will allow SunCulture to scale up renewable energy installations at smallholder farms and households that unwell mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 annually as farmers replace diesel pumps with solar ones while facilitating revenue development and job opportunities in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro enterprise model to make solar-powered irrigation reasonably priced for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added companies, trendy local weather know-how, and access to improve productiveness. A recent report developed b Dalberg Research shows that irrigation methods and solar-powered water pumps can increase farmers production between 2 and 4 occasions, 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, mentioned: “The previous yr was devastating for the hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse financial position due to the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, however, have been capable of improve their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create meals security and sovereignty, and it additionally helps carry individuals out of poverty. This facility additional enables our efforts to assist farmers by offering them with extra of our solar solutions, 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 worked properly together for a common objective: to assist SunCulture attain man extra farmers. It reveals how working capital may be mixed with end user financing, which is crucial for making productive use applied sciences inexpensive.”
Surabhi Mathur Visser, Head of Investments at SunFunder, said: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use technologies like photo voltaic irrigation can be scaled up. diaphragm seal arranged this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an innovative product and enterprise mannequin. We look forward to seeing SunCulture develop 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 transparent demonstration that we will deliver on the new NDF Strategy and its commitment to provide versatile and scalable financing as well as catalytic impact. It has all of the components that outline NDFs added value within the climate financing landscape. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise further financing, as well as our distinctive mi of financing devices to match the wants of our partners, public or non-public. We are proud to be standing with our partners and supporting the emergence of a greener economy, precisely presently of COVID-19.
Since our first funding in 2019, SunCulture has made big strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture through progressive merchandise and client credit. FEI-OGEF is เกจวัดแรงดัน to have the power to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and continue that growth alongside a dedicated 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 offered assist to SunCulture via a mixture of technical help and debt investment. We are excited to continue and increase our investment in the company by way of this new, revolutionary working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, stated: “SunCulture is a great example of an innovative company that is active on the nexus of renewable power and agriculture, utilizing photo voltaic vitality to extend farmers’ incomes. Our facility helps the further growth of SunCultures pay-as-you-go photo voltaic portfolio, resulting in a more sustainable and better manufacturing for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and activities of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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