Azuri Technologies

ElectriFI invested EUR 1.5 million in junior debt to support the expansion of Azuri’s Solar Home System business in Kenya in December 2017 with an additional investment of EUR 1.5 m in March 2021 junior loan to support the expansion of Azuri’s Solar Home System business in Kenya.

Project overview

ElectriFI invested EUR 1.5 million in the first phase of a financing program that is worth more than USD 4 million, alongside Azuri and its investment partners, including impact investment platform TRINE. The first phase will be deployed in Kenya and subsequent phases of the program will expand to Azuri’s other key territories in East Africa including Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

ElectriFI committed additional in March 2021 EUR 1.5 million to support the expansion of Azuri’s Solar Home System business in Kenya. This investment will facilitate energy access to an additional 20 000 households, producing clean electricity and avoiding >32 000 tCO2. It is expected that 200 direct permanent jobs will be created by Azuri’s local distribution partners in Kenya by 2023.

Azuri Technologies is a leading commercial provider of PayGo solar home systems to rural off-grid communities. With the widest reach of any provider in sub Saharan Africa, Azuri is leveraging solar and mobile technology to allow users in 12 different countries to access renewable, distributed power on a pay-as-you-go basis. Azuri has launched an innovative $20 million off-balance-sheet debt financing program to provide working capital for the expansion of off-grid energy and service provision in East Africa, including its satellite-TV solution, to tens of thousands more households across the its target countries. Azuri offers affordable solar home systems and services combined with mobile payment solutions to households in sub-Saharan Africa which do not have access to conventional power.

Follow on investment:

• Contract signature date: March 2021
• Total ElectriFI financing: EUR 1.5m earmarked to Kenya (as a follow-on investment to the existing investment of EUR 1.5m)

First investment:

• Contract signature date: December 2017
• Total ElectriFI financing: EUR 1.5 m
• Status: Exited

Funding objective

The investment consists of a junior loan of EUR 1.5M that will support the expansion of Azuri’s Solar Home System business in Kenya.

Investment rationale

Thanks to ElectriFI and co-investors, Azuri has grown to become one of the top ten SHS businesses with a significant footprint in rural East Africa. This investment of EUR 1.5m will facilitate energy access to an additional 20,000 households, producing clean electricity and avoiding >32,000 tCO2. It is expected that 200 direct permanent jobs will be created by Azuri’s local distribution partners in Kenya by 2023.

Read more:

• Azuri Technologies | ElectriFI
• Azuri Technologies (azuri-group.com)