AFRICA: Oikocredit lends Yellow $5 million for solar kit roll-out

Dutch impact investor Oikocredit is providing a $5 million loan to Yellow. The funding will support the roll-out of Yellow’s solar home systems in at least four countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Yellow is securing financing for the expansion of its activities in sub-Saharan Africa. The funding is a $5 million loan from Oikocredit, an impact investor based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. With this funding, Yellow intends to strengthen its operations in East Africa, including Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda and Malawi. Using technology, the Cape Town, South Africa-based company distributes solar home systems.

“This loan will allow us to access local currency financing in several jurisdictions, giving our company more room to serve more and better customers,” says Michael Heyink, Yellow’s founder and chief executive officer. The company relies on solar kits to accelerate electrification on a continent where 600 million people live without electricity according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).