Solar kit provider Sun King has received a $10 million investment from Proparco, the subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) group to expand its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Proparco is financing Sun King through a green bond issued by Symbiotics Investments, an emerging market access platform based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The bond was issued through the MSME Bonds platform, a Symbiotics initiative that has already enabled the issuance of 309 impact bonds for a total of $2.67 billion, including 33 sustainable bonds through the Green Bond Programme, for a total of $329 million.
Proparco distributes and installs solar home systems, solar lanterns and other solar-powered appliances in rural areas.
Speaking on the investment, Françoise Lombard, Proparco’s Director General said, “Together, we will work effectively to increase access to clean energy in Africa. As highlighted at COP27, this remains a top priority for the continent, where 570 million people still live without proper access to electricity.”
Sun King through its pay-as-you-go system in the solar kit segment in Africa has distributed its products to 80 million customers worldwide, mainly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Patrick Walsh and Anish, co-founders of Sun King disclosed that its solar kits have replaced 7.3 million paraffin lanterns, avoiding 22.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.
Sun King in April raised $260 million in Series D funding to provide electricity access to homes across Africa and Asia.
