KENYA: ElectriFI invests $3 million in solar energy supplier Solarise

The Kenyan subsidiary of the British bank Standard Chartered, the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and Absa Kenya, the subsidiary of the South African bank Absa, also participated in this transaction denominated in the local currency, the Kenyan shilling. “This securitisation could be key to unlocking the significant capital needed to fund solar energy initiatives on the scale required by the climate crisis. We congratulate Citi for orchestrating this innovative transaction. These innovative financial mechanisms can turn the global challenges of energy access, social development and climate action into compelling investment opportunities,” said Anish Thakkar, co-founder of Sun King.

Sun King’s securitisation-based electrification financing joins other local currency solar energy financing initiatives in Kenya, including d.light. The San Francisco, USA-based company has partnered with Solar Frontier Capital (SFC), a financing platform and subsidiary of African Frontier Capital (AFC), to launch the Sh6.5 billion (nearly $65 million) Brighter Life Kenya 1 (BLK1) facility to electrify 1.2 million Kenyans via solar home systems.