SunCulture, a photo voltaic irrigation firm headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has received the first 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 size 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, via its Hivos-Triodos Fund; SunFunder via its Solar Energy Transformation Fund; AlphaMundi via 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 unwell mitigate over 20,000 tons of CO2 annually as farmers substitute diesel pumps with photo voltaic ones whilst facilitating income growth and job alternatives in rural communities.
SunCulture has pioneered a Pay-As-You-Gro enterprise mannequin to make solar-powered irrigation affordable for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, combining end-user finance, value-added providers, trendy climate expertise, and access to improve productivity. A latest report developed b Dalberg Research reveals that irrigation methods and solar-powered water pumps can enhance farmers production between 2 and 4 instances, and their revenue between 2 and 6 times.
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 tens of millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse monetary position due to the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, nonetheless, had been capable of increase their income from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food security and sovereignty, and it also helps lift folks out of poverty. This facility further enables our efforts to help farmers by offering them with extra of our photo voltaic 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 reach man more farmers. เครื่องมือที่ใช้วัดความดันคือ shows how working capital can be mixed with end user financing, which is important 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 solar irrigation could be scaled up. SunFunder arranged this facility with a similar-minded group of lenders to help an revolutionary product and enterprise mannequin. We look forward to seeing SunCulture develop in Kenya and ne markets.
Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at NDF, stated: “This loan to SunCulture is the second extended to an organization graduating from the EEP Trust Fund managed by NDF. It is a clear demonstration that we will ship on the new NDF Strategy and its commitment to offer versatile and scalable financing in addition to catalytic influence. เกจวัดแรงดันแก๊สหุงต้ม has all of the components that define NDFs added worth in the climate financing panorama. It demonstrates our capability to convene and mobilise additional financing, as properly as our unique mi of financing instruments to match the needs of our companions, public or non-public. We are proud to be standing with our companions and supporting the emergence of a greener economic system, precisely at this time of COVID-19.
Since our first funding in 2019, SunCulture has made big strides to unlock the potential of smallholder agriculture via progressive merchandise and consumer credit score. FEI-OGEF is pleased to have the power to refinance our inventor loan into this new working capital facility and proceed that development alongside a committed and constructive group of lenders, noted Harr Guinness from Lions Head.
READ: SunCulture partner with Togo to hurry up access to sustainable solar-powered farming
Judith Santbergen, Senior Investment Manager at AlphaMundi, stated: “Since 2018, AlphaMundi has successively supplied support to SunCulture via a mix of technical assistance and debt investment. We are excited to proceed and improve our funding within the firm via this new, revolutionary working capital facility.
Sjoerd Melsert, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management, stated: “SunCulture is a good instance of an revolutionary firm that is lively on the nexus of renewable power and agriculture, using photo voltaic vitality to extend farmers’ incomes. Our facility supports the further growth of SunCultures pay-as-you-go solar portfolio, resulting in a more sustainable and better manufacturing for smallholder farmers, which is full aligned with the mission, ambition and actions of Hivos-Triodos Fund.”
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