Solar kit provider Sun King has received a $10 million investment from Proparco, the subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) group to expand its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sun King, a provider of off-grid solar energy products in Africa and Asia, has secured a $70 million equity investment led by LeapFrog Investments.
Many African households and communities cannot access affordable and reliable solar technology, limiting their ability to generate their electricity and reducing their reliance on grid-based power. Direct-to-consumer, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar distribution networks are offered by businesses like Sun King, enabling households and individuals to get electricity on the cheap.
Sun King asserts to be the largest of this kind globally. According to the company, it has delivered solar energy to 165,000 homes per month across eight African countries — and in Kenya, where it has operated for over a decade, over 1 in 5 people use its product for light and power, accounting for 22 million Kenyans served to date.
On a much larger scale, Sun King pointed out that since its founding in 2007 by chief executive officer Patrick Walsh and Anish Thakkar, its products have provided light and power to 95 million people throughout its African and Asian markets, including Cameroon, Mozambique, and Togo, three countries it recently expanded into.
The solar energy company has also provided more than $500 million in solar purchase finance through a network of over 20,000 field agents, 36% of whom are women.
“We are proud that LeapFrog is investing in Sun King to expand access to energy with renewable solar power,” said Thakkar. “LeapFrog brings a wealth of experience meeting the needs of customers in the countries where we are working to make solar energy solutions easily accessible to everyone.”
Speaking on the investment, Françoise Lombard, Proparco’s Director General said, “Together, we will work effectively to increase access to clean energy in Africa. As highlighted at COP27, this remains a top priority for the continent, where 570 million people still live without proper access to electricity.”