NEWS: FEI-OGEF participates in a USD 11 million syndicated debt facility to SunCulture

FEI-OGEF has participated in a USD 11 million syndicated debt facility to SunCulture, a solar irrigation company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. The syndicated debt facility is ground-breaking for the ‘productive use’ solar sector due to its size and its innovative combination of working capital and end-user financing. This will enable SunCulture to scale up renewable energy installations at smallholder farms and households, which will mitigate over 20,000 tonnes of CO2 annually as farmers replace diesel pumps with solar ones whilst facilitating income growth and job opportunities in rural communities.

SunCulture offers productive off-grid solar use for smallholder farmers. Its flagship products are high-quality yet affordable solar irrigation pumps that can pump water from as deep as 100 meters to use for crop irrigation and livestock rearing, as well as domestic uses. Through SunCulture’s Pay-As-You-Grow facility, it becomes easier for farmers to purchase SunCulture’s products through an innovative leasing scheme.

Other investors are SunFunder (lead arranger) through its Solar Energy Transformation Fund, Nordic Development Fund (NDF), AlphaMundi Group Ltd through both its SocialAlpha and AlphaJiri Investment Funds and the Hivos-Triodos Fund. The Facility for Energy Inclusion’s Off-Grid Energy Access Fund is managed by Lion's Head Global Partners.

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Published on
12/2/2021