The pan-African energy leasing company, Solarise Africa, has landed a further $10 million investment to drive Africa’s clean energy expansion.
The Series B investment round welcomed French development finance institution, Proparco, alongside existing investors, EAV and EDFI ElectriFI.
“Solarise represents a compelling opportunity for Proparco in the off-grid sector. We are proud to support this innovative project as a first co-investment alongside a strong provider such as EAV. It should remarkably enable African SMEs to start their road towards greener energy through the provision of a decentralised renewable energy production solution,” said Johann Choux, head of equity investments – Financial Institutions & VC, Proparco.
On a continent where frequent outages greatly hamper productivity, Solarise Africa aims to provide innovative financing solutions to industrial and commercial companies. The solution limits the upfront investment and provides manageable instalment payments and short payback periods.
This enables companies to optimise their cost base and productivity, reduce dependability on an unstable power grid and adopt clean energy systems.
According to the CEO and co-founder of Solarise Africa, Jan-Albert Valk, Africa has been ready for clean energy expansion for the African SME sector, but financing has always been a significant hurdle.
“By addressing this critical value chain need we can help to fast-track green energy adoption. We are proud to welcome Proparco as a new investor in Solarise and we are grateful for the support we have received by EAV as our anchor investor almost since our inception, and by the confidence our existing investors EAV and Electrifi have shown by this follow-up investment,” stated Valk.
The investment will be used to fund project deployments and further increase market share in current countries of operation and future expansions into Africa. Solarise Africa currently has operations across Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda where it has deployed several projects and continues to develop an extensive pipeline across the continent.
“We are excited to continue to support the Solarise team as they grow their geographical footprint and impact across Africa. The team has continued to demonstrate their bankability with successful deployments within a short period, strategic market expansion, pipeline development and agility in handling the COVID-19 crisis,” said Paras Patel, partner at Energy Access Ventures.
“Solarise’s innovative financing solution remains compelling for many commercial and industrial clients across Africa grappling with frequent outages and fluctuating costs that affect productivity,” Patel added.
“Since EDFI ElectriFi’s first investment, Solarise Africa has successfully rolled out its business plan – strengthening its team, commissioning its first project and expanding its pipeline through additional partnerships. Only one year later, we are delighted to back the company with additional investment. We believe Solarise is excellently positioned to realise its ambitious plans,” said Dominiek Deconinck, CIO at EDFI Management Company.
Culled from Esi-Africa
