Greenlight Planet, a Pay-As-You-Go Solar company, operating in Africa and India has secured $90 million from a team lead by UK’s CDC Group. The other investors include FMO and Norfund, in addition to impact investors ResponsAbility, SIMA Funds, Symbiotics, Global Partnerships, and private equity firm ARCH Emerging Markets Partners’ Africa Renewable Power Fund.
$69 million of the total investment has already been disbursed to Greenlight Planet, with the balance to be drawn down as the company delivers additional solar-powered home energy systems, with end-consumer financing, to homes in Africa.
Under its Sun King™ brand, Greenlight Planet operates the largest direct-to-consumer PAYG solar distribution and service network in the world, having delivered over 1.3 million PAYG solar products to date in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. The company’s PAYG distribution network employs up to 7,000 staff across the world, 30% of whom are women employed in areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where unemployment levels are high.
Greenlight Planet’s Sun King products offers clean, renewable and reliable energy to sixty million individuals across 65 countries. The products – which include various essential home appliances and the solar panels and batteries to power them – are especially needed as customers spend more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sun King products have saved over US $3.4 billion on fossil-fuel-based energy costs, reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by more than 14 million metric tons.
CDC’s investment will help to boost access to affordable and reliable energy increases productivity for small businesses, and support off-grid families by providing children the means to studying longer. As a result, the commitment will contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7); Climate Action (13); and Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8).
Geoffrey Manley, Director and Head of Energy Access and Efficiency at CDC Group said: “Our financing of Greenlight Planet provides our team with a great opportunity to support a company that is creating jobs and taking meaningful strides to fight climate change. We’re thrilled that our commitment promotes the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, helping to facilitate economic development across the African continent.”
William Barry, Managing Director at ARCH Africa Renewable Power Fund (ARPF) added, “ARCH ARPF is delighted to support Greenlight Planet’s continued growth as it delivers on its mandate to expand energy access across sub-Saharan Africa. Greenlight’s global market leadership in the off-grid solar sector positions the company strongly within ARPF’s expanding off-grid renewable energy portfolio, complementing our existing utility-scale, independent-power-producer development pipeline.”
T. Patrick Walsh, Co-founder and CEO of Greenlight Planet added, “Greenlight Planet’s goal is to bring affordable, clean energy to every under-electrified household that needs it. After a decade of honing our solar technology and our solar distribution, installation, and service strategy, we are now jumping the last hurdle to solve this global challenge, that being financial inclusion. We are expanding access to consumer financing, making basic solar power available to all people, at a cost as low as $0.15 per day. We are delighted to work with CDC, Norfund, FMO, ResponsAbility, SIMA Funds, Symbiotics, Global Partnerships and ARCH to expand access to finance and access to energy.”
The company has delivered consistent profitability over the last four years and generated its first $100 million in revenue in 2019.
