Page 7 - AfrElec Week 17 2022

AfrElec INVESTMENT AfrElec

Sun King raises $260mn in

funding round for solar home

systems in Africa and Asia

AFRICA SOLAR home system supplier Sun King has an incredible inflection point for the global off-
raised $260mn in series D funding to deliver off- grid solar industry, Walsh said.
grid energy technologies to more people across “Over the last 15 years, we have delivered
Africa and Asia. solar energy and light to over 82mn people,
The funding round was led by BeyondNet- enabling kids to study for school, helping entre-
Zero, the climate investing venture of General preneurs run small businesses and allowing
Atlantic, with participation from M&G Invest- families to power their lives, free from the dan-
ments’ Catalyst and Arch Emerging Mar- ger and high cost of kerosene lanterns,” he said.
kets Partners. Sun King has previously raised “This landmark investment allows us to continue
$170mn in equity and debt funding. scaling our technology, service and financing
Sun King, previously called Greenlight capabilities so we can meet the needs of the next
Planet, plans to use $100mn to expand its pay- billion energy consumers.”
as-you-go solutions and introduce larger setups Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 75% of the
that are capable of powering appliances like world’s population with no access to renewable
refrigerators. energy solutions and electricity. Countries like
Its current systems can power lights, mobile South Sudan, Burundi, Chad, Malawi, Burkina
phones and small home appliances like TVs. Part Faso, Madagascar and Tanzania are among the
of the funding will be used to expand the busi- least electrified in the world and could benefit
ness’ presence. from clean energy technologies.
The company was founded in 2007 by Patrick The solar home system market in Africa has
Walsh (CEO) and Anish Thakkar. It has sold its great potential, with major global utilities as well
products in over 40 countries including Kenya, as private equity investors showing interest. For
one of its first markets, where it reports to have example, France’s EDF has bought into Kenyan
benefited 18mn people over 10 years of opera- off-grid and solar kit provider BBOXX and solar
tions. It also has a presence in Zambia, Uganda, energy provider Econet Energy Kenya.™
Tanzania and Nigeria, where it says its customers
tripled over the last one year.
The $260mn investment in Sun King marks

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