Led · Debt Financing · Nov 2022

BioLite designs and manufactures solar home systems (SHS), solar-powered appliances, portable lanterns and cookstoves, with products fully developed in-house. Its offerings are marketed as affordable, high-quality solutions for people with limited or no access to reliable energy and for unhealthy cooking environments. BioLite’s products are distributed in over 20 developing countries in Sub‑Saharan Africa, and the company reports growing demand driving rapid regional expansion. According to its 2021 impact report, BioLite has provided clean energy access to 3.6 million people, offset over 700,000 tonnes of CO2e and saved more than $175 million in end-user fuel costs. To support this growth, BioLite secured debt financing to cover increased working capital requirements. Stakeholders frame the expansion as part of a broader push to scale clean energy access, including a cited ambition to provide 20 million people with access to clean energy by 2025. BioLite produces off-grid energy hardware, including the BaseCamp stove and a new BaseLantern battery-powered light. The BaseLantern holds a charge for up to 54 hours and can charge other devices, while the stoves can produce both heat and electricity. The company uses Kickstarter to fund production and build a community, raising more than $400,000 in a week for the BaseLantern and more than $1 million for the BaseCamp stove in 2014. Beyond retail sales, BioLite supplies stripped-down versions of its products to the developing world and has distributed more than 15,000 stoves. Co-founder Jonathan Cedar described the mission as reinventing municipal utilities at a personal level so people can own lighting, power storage, charging and clean water solutions. BioLite plans to take that model across technologies such as lighting, power storage, charging, and clean water. BioLite develops, manufactures, and markets consumer energy products for off-grid communities around the world. Its products create cooking, charging, and lighting solutions for outdoor enthusiasts as well as rural families living in energy poverty. In March the company launched the BioLite NanoGrid, expanding its technology portfolio to include rechargeable LED lighting and power storage. Founded in 2009 and based in Brooklyn, NY, BioLite is known for turning cooking fires into electricity. The company raised $5m in growth capital consisting of equity, debt, and grants and will use the funds to accelerate expansion of its off-grid energy products.

Participated · Debt Financing · Sep 2021

Zola Electric develops integrated renewable energy hardware and software, including the Infinity system that powers homes and offices and the Vision SaaS platform that provides data, analytics and control. The company began in 2011 offering solar-home solutions in Tanzania and has since expanded product lines to address off-grid, on-grid, rural, urban, residential and commercial needs. Zola positions Infinity as a primary power solution that integrates with grids, solar and batteries while digitally controlling and storing energy. The firm reports more than 1.5 million users and over 300,000 homes and businesses across multiple African countries and additional presence in the U.S., Brazil, Pakistan and the Philippines. Management says the new capital will be used for product development (next-generation digital renewable energy) and commercial expansion to fill out its "energy ladder." The company aims to expand further into Northern Africa, Asia and South America while continuing to build out on-the-ground personnel, developers, integrators and distributors. ZOLA Electric (formerly Off Grid Electric) designs and delivers solar, battery and power-electronics systems that can be purchased over time using PAYGo micro-finance and mobile money. The company powers more than 180,000 homes and businesses across Tanzania, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Its product offering is positioned to replace kerosene and enable lighting, small-business power, connectivity and expanded work and study opportunities. ZOLA has a roster of strategic and capital partners including Tesla, Total, EDF, DBL Partners, Helios Investment Partners and GE Ventures. The company is pursuing continued expansion across Africa and is using new financing to scale customer additions and product development. ZOLA has received industry recognition such as the UN Momentum for Change Award and the Zayed Future Energy Prize. Off Grid Electric develops rooftop solar and battery systems and leases pay-as-you-go home solar kits in Africa. Its leased systems include solar panels, batteries, lights, mobile phone chargers and televisions, with customers able to make payments via mobile phones. The company powers more than 150,000 homes and businesses across Tanzania, Rwanda and Ivory Coast and is expanding into Ghana as part of a partnership with Electricite de France SA. Off Grid’s model leverages declining panel prices to offer leasing options that compete with kerosene lamps and diesel generators. The company raised $55 million in a Series D round to support its expansion, and investors also include Tesla Inc., Total SA and DBL Partners. CEO Xavier Helgesen highlighted the cost advantage of solar electrons in explaining the company’s economics. Off Grid Electric is a Tanzania-headquartered company that develops and markets distributed solar home systems and batteries with a focus on African markets. Its products allow customers to power LED lights, mobile phone chargers and other small electronics. The article does not report revenue, user counts, or other operating metrics. It describes the company as a solar installer active in African markets. The piece focuses on the company's product offering and a recent financing, and does not detail future plans. No additional financial or operational details were provided in the article. Off Grid Electric delivers stand-alone solar systems to last-mile customers using mobile technology and an integrated approach to product design, distribution, sales, financing and service. The company offers basic systems that include LED lights, a radio, a USB charger and a TV, and larger systems that provide extra energy for charging multiple phones and powering appliances and televisions. It markets these systems at costs lower than traditional kerosene lighting. Leadership is led by CEO Xavier Helgesen, COO Erica Mackey and CTO Joshua Pierce. The company is based in San Francisco, Boulder and in Tanzania. Recent funding will be used to enter new African countries and to scale a partnership with the Tanzanian government to power 1 million homes by 2017.

Led · Debt Financing · Feb 2020

Daystar Power develops and operates hybrid renewable energy systems for businesses across West Africa and currently manages and operates 150 power plants in Nigeria. The company supplies hybrid solar power solutions to clients in financial services, manufacturing, and agriculture. It plans to increase installed solar capacity to 140 MW by 2024. This year Daystar has raised $62 million, including a $38 million Series B in January and a $4 million financing for its Ghanaian subsidiary with DEG. Daystar is collaborating with the IFC’s Energy2Equal program, supported by the Canadian government, to address gender disparities and increase women’s participation in leadership and technical roles. The company says it will use new funding to expand project capacity and support additional Nigerian businesses with clean, cheap power. Daystar Power, founded in 2017, provides hybrid solar power solutions to businesses through its Solar-as-a-Service and Power-as-a-Service offerings that reduce clients' overall power costs. The company is active in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Senegal and maintains a representative office in Ivory Coast. It currently has 23 megawatts of installed capacity and has offset approximately 5,000 metric tonnes of CO2 to date. Management reports a more than 50-fold increase in power-as-a-service revenue over the last two years. Daystar serves clients in financial services, manufacturing, agricultural, and natural resources sectors. The company plans to expand installed capacity to over 100 megawatts, grow operations in Nigeria and Ghana, deepen its regional presence, enhance its digital offerings, and expand local teams. Daystar Power, founded in 2017 and based in Lagos, provides solar power and energy-efficiency solutions for commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers. The company deploys pure solar and hybrid solar-fossil fuel systems and offers transparent payment plans, scheduled maintenance, and claims 99.9% uptime with no upfront costs. Daystar is targeting the West African market. Co‑founded by Christian Wessels and Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, the company seeks to scale its energy provision services. To support that scaling, Daystar secured $4 million in debt financing from SunFunder. Its acceptance into Endeavor Nigeria's entrepreneur network is intended to expand access to global credit and customers. Daystar Power, founded in 2017 by Christian Wessels and Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, provides solar power and battery storage solutions for commercial and industrial clients. It operates two models: Power as a Service (PaaS), supplying all site power for a fixed service fee, and Solar as a Service (SaaS), selling solar-generated power per kWh with a guaranteed offtake. Its systems range from 20 kWp to 5 MWp, claim up to 25% savings versus diesel and guarantee 99% uptime. The company offers monthly payment options to reduce customers' capital costs and uses best-in-class equipment with long-term warranties and local technical support. Daystar recently closed a $10 million investment and lined up $16 million in debt financing to support solar expansion across West Africa. It currently serves clients in Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania and plans expansion into Kenya and Zambia.

Participated · Debt Financing · Mar 2019

Since commercial launch in 2015, PEG Africa has become a leading off-grid asset-financing provider in West Africa, distributing PAYGO solar home technology to consumers and micro-businesses. As of June 2020 the company had served nearly 100,000 households, installed 2.14 MW of renewable capacity, employed over 490 full-time staff, and operated 80 service centres across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and recently Mali. PEG’s core product is pay-as-you-go solar home systems, and the company is expanding its offering to include productive-use appliances such as solar water pumps for smallholder farmers. The company has qualified as a 2X Challenge UPvestment with CDC group and has pursued gender-diversity initiatives supported by Power Africa. EDFI ElectriFI’s financing is being used to accelerate distribution in Côte d’Ivoire and to catalyse additional funding for growth and productive-use deployments. PEG Africa, founded in 2013 and based in Ghana, provides Pay-As-You-Go solar home systems and related services. Since its debut it has provided solar electricity to over 400,000 users across Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal. The company also offers solar water irrigation services and larger solar power systems for multinational customers. PEG Africa raised $4 million in debt capital from UK-based CDC Group to expand its PAYG operations in Senegal. The Senegal branch has experienced exponential growth in the past 12 months and has become profitable. Prior to this debt raise, PEG Africa had secured almost $30 million over the prior two years, including a $25 million Series C announced in January. PEG Africa finances and deploys pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar systems to consumers and SMEs, helping customers replace appliances that depend on grid power with solar alternatives. The company serves over 400,000 consumers across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal and has recently expanded into solar water irrigation and larger solar power systems. Management says PEG has almost doubled in size every year since 2015, which it cites as evidence of financial sustainability. The newly secured $5 million will be used to boost its existing markets and support further expansion across West Africa. The funding is structured as junior debt provided by the Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI), which is sponsored by the European Union and managed by the EDFI Management Company. ElectriFI’s financing is backed by UK DFI, CDC Group, and SunFunder, groups that previously provided a $15 million senior secured local‑currency debt facility to PEG earlier in 2019. PEG Africa provides PAYG financing for solar home systems across Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal, serving over 60,000 households. The company focuses on replacing polluting fuels like kerosene by offering cleaner, cheaper solar solutions to low-income customers. More than 50% of PEG’s customers earn less than US$3 per day; 89% lack access to the national grid and 82% had never received financing before PEG. Headquartered in Ghana, PEG says it is expanding rapidly and profitably while improving lives in the region. The company plans to use the new funding to further establish itself as a market leader and expand service delivery across West Africa. Its funding history includes a US$13.5M round in 2017 and two rounds in 2016, taking total funding to US$50M. PEG Africa provides pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar home systems to off-grid and rural customers, focusing on areas without reliable access to electricity. The company combines product sales with financing to expand residential solar adoption. It secured US$1.5 million in debt financing to deploy systems sufficient for roughly 75,000 residents in Ghana. PEG Africa has a stated goal of financing 500,000 households in West Africa by 2020. In parallel with the debt raise, PEG Africa won a grant from USAID's Scaling Off-Grid Energy Grant Challenge to pilot new innovations for its PAYG business. CEO Hugh Whalan described the debt deal as a landmark for the off-grid PAYG solar sector, and the firm noted legal support from Nixon Peabody on the transaction.

Led · Debt Financing · Jan 2019

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.