Participated · Equity · Feb 2019

SendFriend provides a blockchain technology platform aimed at reducing the cost of remittance payments for Overseas Filipino Workers. The company leverages a partnership with Ripple and uses xRapid, employing XRP as a liquidity vehicle to convert USD to XRP to PHP in seconds and circumvent the correspondent banking system. Led by co-founder and CEO David Lighton, SendFriend was accepted into the Barclays Accelerator Program, Powered by Techstars, to further develop its customer-first solution. The company plans to launch in New Jersey and expand availability to OFWs in other U.S. states via desktop and mobile. Financially, SendFriend has raised $1.7M in total funding and intends to use the proceeds to build out the team, and to focus on community engagement and marketing efforts.

Led · Equity · Oct 2018

SolarNow sells and finances off-grid solar systems for residential and commercial use across Uganda. The company uses structured asset finance instruments to fund deployments and maintain a credit portfolio for customers. The new $9 million instrument is SolarNow’s third SAFI and is structured as a debt facility arranged by SunFunder. SolarNow plans to deploy 17,500 new off-grid solar systems and add almost 2.5 MW of installed off-grid solar capacity with the funding. The investment formalizes a five-year partnership with Nairobi-based SunFunder and includes participation from Oikocredit and responsAbility. Founded by Willem Nolens in 2011, the company has secured $29.2 million in total investments or direct financing to date. SolarNow Services Limited is a Uganda-based social enterprise that provides sustainable, quality solar-powered equipment, appliances and after-sales services to remote and off-grid homes, farms, schools, health centers and businesses across East Africa. The company has worked with more than 25,000 clients and operates 60 branches in the region. SolarNow recently partnered with Eseye and Amazon Web Services to incorporate IoT into its service provision and enable remote interaction with clients. To boost its East Africa operations, SolarNow secured US$740,000 (about Shs2.8 billion) in funding from the Mastercard Foundation. The funding was awarded through the Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity, which supports businesses designing products for rural communities in Sub‑Saharan Africa. The FRP selected nine companies from more than 300 firms competing in its 2017/2018 rolling competition to receive this round of support. SolarNow sells solar systems to rural households and businesses in Uganda, offering a 24-month credit facility to make them affordable. The company aims to expand access to pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar power and has reached more than 25,000 clients. It secured a US$6 million debt facility to help it reach more clients and expand PAYG access. The facility is led by SunFunder with participation from responsAbility Investments AG and Oikocredit. This is SolarNow’s second structured asset finance instrument arranged by SunFunder and the fifth transaction between the two. Management says the financing will enable the company to continue tackling the unmet market opportunity in East Africa and to reach 70 percent of Uganda’s off-grid population with solar home systems.