Oolu Solar, a Senegal-based startup aiming to provide affordable solar energy in West Africa, recently closed its Series B round of funding at USD 8.5 million, with Austria-based RP Global acting as the lead investor. Other participants included
Search Results for: Solar
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FEI OGEF Loans $4m to Bboxx to Expand “Pulse” Electric Power Management, Pay-as-you-go Solar Energy in DRC
The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (OGEF), a debt fund of the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), recently lent USD 4 million to Bboxx, a UK-based solar energy installation and financing firm that is active in Africa and Asia. The loan proceeds are slated to help Bboxx meet its agreement with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Charm Impact Raises $360k in Equity to Expand Lending for Solar Energy in West Africa, India
Charm Impact, a UK-based lender to renewable-energy firms in developing countries, recently raised GBP 274,000 (USD 360,000) in equity financing through the UK-based crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. Charm plans to use the funds to scale up its operations
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Greenlight Planet Secures $90m in Debt, Equity for Pay-as-you-go Solar in Africa, South Asia
Greenlight Planet, a for-profit social business with offices in Kenya, India and the US, recently secured USD 90 million in debt and equity to expand its sales of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar products. The investors are
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swedfund to Loan $12m to SunFunder Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund
Swedfund, the Swedish government’s development finance institution, recently pledged an investment of USD 12 million to the Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund, which was launched by SunFunder, a Kenya-based financier of solar energy firms in developing countries. SET is a nine-year, USD 70 million debt fund that aims
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Zola, EDF Harness Securitization to Expand Solar Energy in Côte d’Ivoire with Support from Credit Agricole CIB, Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, Societe Generale, AfDB
Credit Agricole CIB (Corporate and Investment Bank), a member of the France-based Credit Agricole Group; the Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation; and French investment firm NEoT Off-Grid Africa recently launched a securitization vehicle to enable Zola EDF Côte d’Ivoire to increase its sales of solar power systems to households that are not connected to traditional power grids. Zola EDF Côte d’Ivoire, which uses a
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MPower Secures $430k in Equity for Lease-to-own Solar Power in Africa via Crowdfunding Platform Crowdcube
MPower, a Switzerland-based provider of solar products in Africa, recently raised GBP 350,000 (USD 430,000) via British crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, through which retail investors purchased a total of 5.84 percent of the firm’s equity.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fenix, MTN, UNCDF Cross-train Staff to Sell Pay-as-you-go Solar Home Power Systems, Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions in Rural Zambia
During a 10-month pilot project, Fenix International, a provider of solar home power systems that is controlled by France-based Engie; MTN, a telecom based in South Africa; and the UN Capital Development Fund collaborated to train 93 “Fenix Traders” to expand the uptake of solar home systems in Zambia. Previously, usage of the systems, which are enabled and disabled remotely based on users’ “pay-as-you-go” payments, were limited by a scarcity of mobile-money agents to accept these payments, particularly in rural areas. To address this problem, these Fenix Traders were cross-trained and equipped for both solar sales and the provision of mobile money services. Of the group, 82 operate in
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “A Tale of Two Sisters: Microfinance Institutions and PAYGo Solar;” by Waldron, Sotiriou, Winiecki; published by CGAP
By Daniel Waldron, Alexander Sotiriou and Jacob Winiecki; published by CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); November 2019; 24 pages; available at https://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_11_Focus_Note_Paygo_Two_Sisters_2.pdf
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the popularity of acquiring access to solar products in pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) formats is growing. This report assesses options available to microfinance institutions (MFIs) to engage with this market, which is largely dominated by new financial technology (fintech) companies. Devices that use PAYGo technology can be enabled and disabled remotely based on the payments their users make to the financiers of the devices.
The report primarily draws on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Angaza, SIMA Launch Distributor Financing Fund for Off-grid Solar Power
Angaza, a provider of “pay-as-you-go” metering technology, and US-based Social Investment Managers and Advisors (SIMA), recently announced the launch of the SIMA Angaza Distributor Financing Fund (DFF), an investment vehicle that will lend to distributors of off-grid solar energy equipment. The partners expect the use of Angaza’s data tools by DFF’s partner distributors to
SPECIAL REPORT: Solar Kits for Reselling Power, Internet Access; Staff Training by Subscription; Free Business Planning Software on Offer as 30 Firms Showcase Inclusive Finance Products at SAM Innovators’ Village (Part Two)
Thirty 
organizations shared their latest products during the Innovators’ Village at the SAM conference held recently in Burkina Faso. Among these was Qotto, a provider of kits that bring solar power and internet to off-grid households. The kits include battery packs and can be used to run appliances such as lamps, televisions and telephone chargers. The system includes an app for tracking usage and allowing Qotto and the owner to share revenue from selling phone recharges or wireless internet access to neighbors.
Eclectics International offers a core banking system for financial services providers (FSPs) that was designed “by Africans for the African market.” Its features allow for loan disbursal via mobile money, as well as integration with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Engie Acquires Mobisol, Provider of Pay-as-you-go Solar Systems in East Africa
Engie, a France-based, “low-carbon” energy firm, recently agreed to acquire Mobisol, a Germany-based provider of solar-powered products in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, for an undisclosed price. Among the reasons Engie is pursuing the transaction is the opening for “extending its customer base from rural to urban areas.”
Mobisol provides solar-powered products such as lights and telephone chargers that customers pay for via mobile payments over as many as four years. When a buyer wishes to delay a payment, Mobisol can temporarily disable the device remotely.
Engie’s holdings include: (1) Fenix International, which has delivered solar home power systems to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobisol, Provider of Pay-as-you-go Solar Systems in East Africa, Files for Insolvency
Mobisol, a Germany-based provider of solar-powered products in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, recently completed a court filing to enter a period of “self-administered insolvency.” According to a press release from the firm, “Mobisol is going to continue serving its customers and partners…without any interruption.” The firm’s managers are working with potential investors as part of a plan to bring in more cash and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Angaza, Mastercard Collaborating on Pay-as-you-go Solar Electricity, Water Pumps, Cook Stoves in Africa, Latin America
Angaza, a provider of “pay-as-you-go” metering technology that has offices in Kenya and the US, recently partnered with US-based payments firm Mastercard to create a digital payment service to help low-income people purchase equipment over time. Anzinga has worked with 100 distributors to enable 1 million households in 30 countries to buy products such as solar power systems, water pumps and low-pollution cookstoves. The two companies have successfully pilot-tested their collaboration in Nigeria, confirming that it can provide
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Loans $10m to FinLux ELLEN Sarl to Promote Solar Electricity Access in Chad in Partnership with Bren-Tronics
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the development finance institution of the US government, recently loaned USD 10 million to FinLux E Longlife Energies Nouvelles (ELLEN), a firm registered in France, to distribute solar-powered devices to households, small businesses, medical clinics and educational institutions in Chad. To minimize the upfront cost to users, “the Project Company will retain ownership” of the devices.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SunFunder Raises $42.5m for Solar Energy Transformation Fund from OPIC, Calvert, Ceniarth, IKEA Foundation
SunFunder, a Kenya-based financier of solar energy firms, recently raised USD 37.5 million in debt for its new Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund as well as USD 5 million in first-loss grant funding from the IKEA Foundation, an affiliate of the Sweden-founded IKEA group of furniture companies. The goal of SET is to raise USD 85 million to fund the delivery of energy to 3 million people over
SPECIAL REPORT: RCPB of Burkina Faso Improves Youth Training, Links with Solar Provider at SAM
Réseau à la Faîtière des Caisses Populaires du Burkina, a savings and credit cooperative with 180 locations in Burkina Faso, has sent several staff members to all three SAM conferences. In 
Dakar in 2015, they made contact with a provider of solar light kits that hold a charge for four days. RCPB now lends to women to purchase these kits, which can have a wide range of benefits, such as increased student study time and reduced indoor air pollution from burning kerosene.
Azaratou Sondo-Nignan (pictured), the deputy director of RCPB, was part of a delegation that presented at SAM on the institution’s youth loans. In addition to sharing its expertise with other organizations, the delegation brought back ideas that helped improve the training that RCPB’s young borrowers receive in support of their loans.
RCPB staff also heard from a representative of a firm in Niger that offers a system to control irrigation canals remotely. Ms Sondo feels this would
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Arranges $15m in Debt Financing for Pay-as-you-go Solar Power Provider Kingo of Guatemala
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently arranged USD 15.5 million in local-currency financing for Solesco Centroamérica, a Guatemalan solar company that primarily serves rural areas under the brand name Kingo. The funding comes in the form of a seven-year, local-currency loan with funding equivalent to