Solarworks!
Period
2019
Country
Mozambique
Sector
Renewable energy
Financial facility
ElectriFI
ElectriFI has signed a USD 4m debt facility with SolarWorks!, a leading Pay-As-You-Go solar home system and energy services provider for expansion in Southern Africa.
Project overview
EDFI ElectriFI committed USD 4 million to provide finance for pay-as-you-go solar installations in more than 100,000 homes over the next two years in Southern Africa.
SolarWorks! is the leading pay-as-you-go energy provider to off-grid homes in Mozambique. To date the company has connected well over 15,000 homes in Mozambique to affordable, safe and clean energy. Its predominantly low-income customer base is accessing lighting, phone charging, radio and TV on monthly mobile money payment plans that are less than the typical cost of kerosene. 95% of the company’s employees are from the countries it operates in and gender balance is a strategic component of its HR strategy.
Funding objective
Funding will be utilised over the next two years to provide finance for pay-as-you-go solar installations in more than 100,000 homes.
Investment rationale
Access to energy and access to finance of the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) continues to hold back social and economic development in Sub Sahara Africa. Availability of debt financing is widely seen as a bottleneck for growth of the off-grid energy sector. The financing is an opportunity to back a market leader in its home market. SolarWorks! has an excellent track-record of providing SHSs to its customer base. It is the first large debt facility for an off-grid solar company in
Mozambique and such a landmark facility is expected to catalyse more debt financing to the off-grid sector.
Key Indicators
Financial Instrument
Debt
Amount
USD 4 million
Year
March 2019
Targeted impact – Number of beneficiaries
600,000
Targeted impact – Annual output (MWh/y)
1,800
Targeted impact – GHG avoidance (tCO2eq/y)