SunFunder

SunFunder Inc. is a solar energy finance company based in San Francisco, California, that specializes in providing various forms of financing to solar energy enterprises, particularly in emerging markets. Founded in 2012, the company offers short-term working capital, inventory, construction, and structured finance loans to solar product distributors, manufacturers, and project developers primarily in East and West Africa, as well as Asia. SunFunder's mission is to catalyze the development of solar energy infrastructure by leveraging its expertise in the solar market and facilitating efficient due diligence processes. By acting as a financial intermediary, SunFunder enables investors to engage in high-impact, fixed-income debt offerings that support the growth of solar assets in regions with inadequate energy access.

Rim Azirar

Senior Investment Officer

Avi Jacobson

Investment Director

Collins Kuindwa

Investment Officer

Ryan Levinson

Founder and CEO

Surabhi Mathur Visser

Head of Investments

25 past transactions

M-KOPA

Debt Financing in 2023
M-KOPA offers connected asset financing solutions, combining digital micropayments and IoT connectivity. It provides access to essential products like solar lighting, televisions, fridges, smartphones, and financial services for underbanked customers without requiring credit history or assets.

Energy Vision

Debt Financing in 2023
Energy Vision specializes in providing sustainable energy solutions for telecom operators and tower firms. They focus on areas with limited or unreliable grid access, offering comprehensive services including engineering, implementation, operation & maintenance, upgrades, and expansions.

BioLite

Debt Financing in 2023
BioLite Inc. is a Brooklyn-based company founded in 2006 that develops and manufactures energy products aimed at both off-grid communities and outdoor enthusiasts. Its product range includes portable grills, stoves, power lights, and energy bundles, all designed to be compatible with various devices like smartphones and rechargeable battery packs. BioLite addresses the needs of two distinct markets: families in developing countries who rely on traditional wood fires for cooking, which poses significant health risks, and outdoor enthusiasts seeking efficient, fuel-independent cooking solutions. The company has pioneered advanced, clean-burning stove technology that significantly reduces indoor smoke emissions while generating electricity from waste heat, enabling users to charge devices and improve their living conditions. By focusing on innovative solutions, BioLite aims to tackle energy poverty and enhance environmental sustainability.

d.light

Debt Financing in 2022
d.light develops solar-powered lighting and power products, including lights, radios, televisions, fans, and other home appliances. Their rechargeable solar kits aim to improve health, increase productivity, and enhance the quality of life for users in rural and semi-urban areas by providing access to clean energy.

Yellow

Debt Financing in 2021
Yellow is a fintech company dedicated to delivering impactful products and services to rural households through a widespread sales network. The company specializes in the last mile distribution of affordable pay-as-you-go solar home systems, targeting low-income communities. By leveraging innovative financing solutions, Yellow aims to enhance access to renewable energy, thereby improving the quality of life for its customers in underserved areas.

ZOLA Electric

Debt Financing in 2021
ZOLA Electric specializes in providing off-grid solar solutions, primarily serving African markets. It offers solar home kits through leasing or sales, targeting individual households and businesses in rural communities across Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast. Founded in 2012, ZOLA Electric operates from Arusha, Tanzania with an additional office in San Francisco, California.

Winch Energy

Debt Financing in 2021
Winch Energy Group is a company that specializes in off-grid, renewable energy solutions aimed at providing power generation and ancillary services for rural populations, particularly in Africa. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Sevenoaks, United Kingdom, with additional offices in France and Italy, the company focuses on energy solutions for corporate and institutional partners. Winch Energy develops and operates power generation assets, offering total lighting solutions including surveys, design, compliance management, and installation. The company also engages in project origination and greenfield development, identifying opportunities, arranging funding, and implementing projects. Its services cater to various industries, including mining, petrochemicals, cement, and food and beverage. Winch Energy is committed to meeting national-scale rural electrification objectives rapidly and efficiently, enabling access to electricity, running water, and communications in remote locations across Africa, Central and Latin America, and Asia.

SunCulture

Debt Financing in 2021
SunCulture, based in Nairobi, Kenya, develops and sells the AgroSolar Irrigation Kit, a fully solar-powered irrigation system that combines solar water pumping with high-efficiency drip irrigation. The kit is designed to help smallholder farmers grow more with less water and energy, delivering reliable irrigation and enabling additional benefits such as lighting and mobile charging. SunCulture positions itself as a one-stop provider for rural farmers, offering not only the irrigation hardware but also agronomic services, training, access to capital, and market opportunities. By integrating solar pumping, irrigation, and support services, the company aims to improve crop yields, reduce operating costs, and promote sustainable farming through climate technology and a digital marketplace.

InspiraFarms

Debt Financing in 2020
InspiraFarms is a company that specializes in manufacturing solar-powered modular technologies for food processing and cold storage. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, with additional offices in Kenya, Southern Africa, and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, the company provides off-grid cold storage units, food processing plants, and dairy chilling machines. Its offerings include Good Agricultural Practice certified modules and renewable energy systems, designed to support the post-harvest value addition processes. InspiraFarms targets small to medium-sized enterprises within the fruit, vegetable, and dairy industries, ensuring that its solutions meet global food safety certification and quality standards. By collaborating with various actors in value chains across Central America and East Africa, InspiraFarms aims to facilitate access to healthy and nutritious food for both local and international markets.

Daystar Power

Debt Financing in 2020
Daystar Power specializes in delivering solar power solutions and energy efficiency services to businesses across commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors. Their offerings significantly reduce power costs, diesel consumption, and pollution.

d.light

Debt Financing in 2019
d.light develops solar-powered lighting and power products, including lights, radios, televisions, fans, and other home appliances. Their rechargeable solar kits aim to improve health, increase productivity, and enhance the quality of life for users in rural and semi-urban areas by providing access to clean energy.

PEG

Series C in 2019
PEG is an asset financing company based in Accra, Ghana, that specializes in providing affordable solar energy solutions to off-grid households in West Africa. Founded in 2013 by Hugh Whalan and Nate Heller, PEG offers a Pay As You Go financing model that enables customers to acquire solar home systems, which enhance their quality of life by providing reliable lighting, mobile phone charging, and access to appliances like radios and televisions. By facilitating the transition from traditional, polluting fuels such as kerosene to sustainable solar energy, PEG empowers its customers to invest in clean technology while reducing their ongoing energy costs. The company's operations extend to countries including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal, where it addresses the energy needs of underserved communities.

PEG

Debt Financing in 2019
PEG is an asset financing company based in Accra, Ghana, that specializes in providing affordable solar energy solutions to off-grid households in West Africa. Founded in 2013 by Hugh Whalan and Nate Heller, PEG offers a Pay As You Go financing model that enables customers to acquire solar home systems, which enhance their quality of life by providing reliable lighting, mobile phone charging, and access to appliances like radios and televisions. By facilitating the transition from traditional, polluting fuels such as kerosene to sustainable solar energy, PEG empowers its customers to invest in clean technology while reducing their ongoing energy costs. The company's operations extend to countries including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal, where it addresses the energy needs of underserved communities.

SolarWorks!

Debt Financing in 2019
SolarWorks! designs, manufactures and markets solar solutions for lighting and low-voltage electricity provision (6-12V), targeting off-grid or limited-access electricity scenarios; its products generate solar power to illuminate spaces and charge devices, enabling customers to access energy where grid power is unavailable.

SolarNow

Debt Financing in 2019
SolarNow provides solar energy and financing solutions in East Africa through a subsidiary, offering solar home systems, electrical appliances, and power solutions for rural and urban households, entrepreneurs, and institutions. The company serves households, small businesses, farming operations, and corporate customers with flexible credit and service options to access clean, affordable energy. Founded in 2011 by Willem Nolens, it is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with operations in Uganda and Kenya.

ZOLA Electric

Debt Financing in 2018
ZOLA Electric specializes in providing off-grid solar solutions, primarily serving African markets. It offers solar home kits through leasing or sales, targeting individual households and businesses in rural communities across Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast. Founded in 2012, ZOLA Electric operates from Arusha, Tanzania with an additional office in San Francisco, California.

Questworks

Debt Financing in 2018
Questworks offers turnkey construction, PV solar and office fit-out solutions.

d.light

Debt Financing in 2018
d.light develops solar-powered lighting and power products, including lights, radios, televisions, fans, and other home appliances. Their rechargeable solar kits aim to improve health, increase productivity, and enhance the quality of life for users in rural and semi-urban areas by providing access to clean energy.

Sun King

Private Equity Round in 2017
Sun King is a solar energy company that designs, manufactures, distributes, and finances solar home energy products for households and small businesses in Africa and Asia. The company produces solar home systems, inverter systems, solar lamps, LED lights, portable solar chargers, and portable lanterns to provide reliable energy to communities without dependable power. It offers pay-as-you-go financing to reduce up-front costs and enable flexible installments. Sun King sells through an international distribution network to expand the off-grid market and make affordable solar energy accessible.

SolarNow

Debt Financing in 2017
SolarNow provides solar energy and financing solutions in East Africa through a subsidiary, offering solar home systems, electrical appliances, and power solutions for rural and urban households, entrepreneurs, and institutions. The company serves households, small businesses, farming operations, and corporate customers with flexible credit and service options to access clean, affordable energy. Founded in 2011 by Willem Nolens, it is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with operations in Uganda and Kenya.

InspiraFarms

Debt Financing in 2017
InspiraFarms is a company that specializes in manufacturing solar-powered modular technologies for food processing and cold storage. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, with additional offices in Kenya, Southern Africa, and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, the company provides off-grid cold storage units, food processing plants, and dairy chilling machines. Its offerings include Good Agricultural Practice certified modules and renewable energy systems, designed to support the post-harvest value addition processes. InspiraFarms targets small to medium-sized enterprises within the fruit, vegetable, and dairy industries, ensuring that its solutions meet global food safety certification and quality standards. By collaborating with various actors in value chains across Central America and East Africa, InspiraFarms aims to facilitate access to healthy and nutritious food for both local and international markets.

PEG

Debt Financing in 2016
PEG is an asset financing company based in Accra, Ghana, that specializes in providing affordable solar energy solutions to off-grid households in West Africa. Founded in 2013 by Hugh Whalan and Nate Heller, PEG offers a Pay As You Go financing model that enables customers to acquire solar home systems, which enhance their quality of life by providing reliable lighting, mobile phone charging, and access to appliances like radios and televisions. By facilitating the transition from traditional, polluting fuels such as kerosene to sustainable solar energy, PEG empowers its customers to invest in clean technology while reducing their ongoing energy costs. The company's operations extend to countries including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal, where it addresses the energy needs of underserved communities.

d.light

Debt Financing in 2016
d.light develops solar-powered lighting and power products, including lights, radios, televisions, fans, and other home appliances. Their rechargeable solar kits aim to improve health, increase productivity, and enhance the quality of life for users in rural and semi-urban areas by providing access to clean energy.

SolarNow

Debt Financing in 2016
SolarNow provides solar energy and financing solutions in East Africa through a subsidiary, offering solar home systems, electrical appliances, and power solutions for rural and urban households, entrepreneurs, and institutions. The company serves households, small businesses, farming operations, and corporate customers with flexible credit and service options to access clean, affordable energy. Founded in 2011 by Willem Nolens, it is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with operations in Uganda and Kenya.

ENSOL

Debt Financing in 2014
ENSOL is renewable energy company that offers engineering, procurement, and construction to solar energy projects
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