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Add to Preferred SourcesCDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has announced a joint commitment of US $90 million – in partnership with leading investors – to Greenlight Planet Inc., the largest provider of solar-powered home energy products in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This new funding will enable Greenlight Planet to expand its Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar consumer finance business.
CDC is invested in the solar energy provider, alongside 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. Of the total investment, the US $69 million has 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.
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.”
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).
Original source: CDC