Solarise, a Kenyan energy leasing startup, has raised 5.9 million dollars in debt financing from Swedish impact investment platform Trine to help sustain its growth across the globe.
Solarise Africa, co-founded by Patrik Huber, Jan Albert and Sakkie Van Wijk, is a dealer in solar and other renewable energy products. The startup focuses on commercial and industrial clients, providing smart financing through a hand picked group of partners.
These new funds from Trine, an investment service designed to provide debt capital to innovative solar minded businesses, comes in the wake of a 10 million dollars funding raised last year.
This fund will be deployed to advance investment in food security, renewable energy, urban development, manufacturing and production in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and lastly, Rwanda when disbursed. Per the company, the first disbursement will be used to finance five solar projects in South Africa and Kenya.
CEO of Solarise, Valk, said the “first debt raise marks a milestone for business.” Expressing his gratitude over the fundraising, Valk said, “ we are deeply honoured by Trine’s and its investor’s confidence. These funds will be used to deploy projects and expand market share in current operational countries”.
He affirmed that Solarise Africa has operations in Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana where several projects have been deployed, and the company’s pipelines continue to expand quickly. “We are excited to make our Energy-as-aService offering available to more partners so that we can actively drive Africa’s progress together”.
In a similar vein, the CEO and co-founder of Trine, Sam Manaberi commented on what the new partnership- signals for both parties. “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’. Said Sam Manaberi.
According to him, the renewable energy leasing startup has impressive financing solutions. “We are glad to have them onboard and ensure their continued success”.