Solarise Africa, a Kenyan energy leasing company, has secured EUR5 million (US$5.9 million) in debt financing from Trine, a Swedish impact investment platform, to help it continue to expand across Africa.
Solarise Africa, founded by Patrik Huber, Jan Albert Valk, and Sakkie van Wijk, is an energy leasing company that focuses on commercial and industrial clients for solar and other energy assets (C&I).
Last year, the company raised a US$10 million Series B funding round through a select group of partners, and it has now added EUR5 million in debt from Trine, an investment service built specifically to provide debt capital to innovative solar-focused businesses in emerging markets.
The funds will support investments in food security, renewable energy, urban development, manufacturing and production in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, and will be disbursed in multiple tranches. Five solar projects in South Africa and Kenya will be funded with the first disbursement.
“Our first debt raise marks a milestone for the business”, said Valk, Solarise’s chief executive officer (CEO). “We are deeply honoured by Trine’s and its investors’ confidence. These funds will be used to deploy projects and expand market share in current operational countries. At the moment, Solarise Africa has operations in Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana where several projects have been deployed, and our pipeline continues to expand quickly. We are excited to make our Energy-as-a-Service offering available to more partners so that we can actively drive Africa’s progress together.”
Sam Manaberi, CEO and co-founder of Trine, said he was excited about the new partnership as his company moved into the commercial and industrial market.
“This presents a new offering for our investors as Solarise Africa works with a selected group of renewable energy solution companies and collaborates very closely with their partners to provide a range of tailor-made financial solutions for their customers. Their innovative financing solutions are very impressive and we are glad to have them onboard and look forward to following their continued success,” Manaberi said.