SunCulture receives increase for photo voltaic irrigation expansion in Africa

SunCulture, a solar irrigation firm headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has acquired the primary disbursement from a new US $11m syndicated debt facility to increase its operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The new loan is groundbreaking for the productive use solar sector due to its size and its progressive 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 by way of each its SocialAlpha and AlphaJiri Investment Funds; and the AfDB’s FEI OGEF managed b Lions Head.
This will allow SunCulture to scale up renewable vitality installations at smallholder farms and households that sick mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 annually as farmers substitute diesel pumps with photo voltaic ones while facilitating revenue progress and job alternatives in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro business mannequin to make solar-powered irrigation inexpensive for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added providers, fashionable climate know-how, and access to enhance productivity. A recent report developed b Dalberg Research exhibits that irrigation systems and solar-powered water pumps can increase farmers manufacturing between 2 and 4 instances, and their revenue between 2 and 6 instances.
READ: SunCulture to distribute solar-powered water pumps across Africa
Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, mentioned: “The previous 12 months was devastating for the hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse financial place as a outcome of pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, nonetheless, have been able to improve their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create meals security and sovereignty, and it additionally helps lift people out of poverty. This facility additional allows our efforts to support farmers by providing them with more of our solar solutions, and quicker.”
pressure gauge ราคา ถูก -Fosu, Investment Officer, who led the transaction for SunFunder, said: “We are delighted to have led this syndicate of proactive lenders who labored properly together for a typical objective: to assist SunCulture reach man more farmers. เกจวัดแรงดันน้ำดิจิตอล reveals how working capital could be mixed with end consumer financing, which is crucial for making productive use applied sciences inexpensive.”
Surabhi Mathur Visser, Head of Investments at SunFunder, mentioned: This is a pioneering transaction that demonstrates how productive use technologies like photo voltaic irrigation may be scaled up. SunFunder organized this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an revolutionary product and business mannequin. We look ahead to seeing SunCulture grow in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, mentioned: “This mortgage 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 ship on the brand new NDF Strategy and its dedication to supply flexible and scalable financing as well as catalytic influence. It has all of the components that define NDFs added value in the local weather financing landscape. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise additional financing, in addition to our unique mi of financing instruments to match the needs of our companions, public or private. 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 huge strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture via progressive merchandise and client credit. FEI-OGEF is joyful to find a way to refinance our inventor mortgage into this new working capital facility and proceed that progress alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, famous Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture partner with Togo to speed up access to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, said: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively provided help to SunCulture by way of a mixture of technical help and debt funding. We are excited to continue and enhance our funding within the company through this new, progressive working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, mentioned: “SunCulture is a superb example of an revolutionary firm that is energetic on the nexus of renewable energy and agriculture, using photo voltaic power to extend farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the further growth of SunCultures pay-as-you-go solar portfolio, resulting in 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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