SunFunder raised $17 million in equity and debt in 2015 to finance solar energy beyond the grid
Debt investors include: Iberdrola, Deutsche Bank, Ceniarth, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Calvert Foundation, Treehouse Investments, DOEN Foundation, Arjuna Income and Impact Fund, Etho Capital and 29 individual accredited investors
Equity investors include: Treehouse Investments, Khosla Impact, Schneider Electric and Better Ventures
In 2015, SunFunder raised over $17 million in equity and debt capital for financing solar projects. Along with the other $131 million total equity investments in 2015 that have poured into the off-grid solar sector, SunFunder’s total investments send a strong signal that this sector is growing and has tremendous potential. One estimate puts this sector’s market opportunity at $12 billion annually by 2030.
Below we provide more information about our equity and debt fundraising in 2015:
SunFunder raised $3.3 million in a Series B investment that closed in December 2015.
The round was led by Treehouse Investments and also included existing investors Khosla Impact, Schneider Electric, Better Ventures, Radicle Capital, and several angel investors.
On why Treehouse Investments chose to invest in SunFunder, Director Raoul Slavin says, “Treehouse seeks to promote the efficient allocation of real capital to real needs - Sunfunder does precisely that. We began by investing in their Solar Notes, but became increasingly impressed with their team and its vision.”
The Series B investment is aimed at helping SunFunder achieve its goal of catalyzing billions of debt financing into solar projects in emerging markets in the next decade. In particular, the Series B investment will allow SunFunder to:
Expand into new geographies and solar project segments
Make investments in off-grid solar efficient and a mainstream finance product for accredited investors
Provide a variety of loan products, including inventory, to structured (asset-securitized) finance, and project finance
Build stronger processes around diligence and risk mitigation and increase SunFunder’s expertise with technology and systems
SunFunder raised $13 million of Solar Notes in 2015 for financing solar projects in emerging markets. Solar Notes are a private debt offering that gives accredited investors an opportunity to invest in a diversified, vetted and high-impact portfolio of off-grid and grid deficit solar projects.
In 2015, 44 accredited investors invested in SunFunder’s Solar Notes. More than half of Solar Notes investors are individual accredited investors from 5 countries. The others are institutional investors that represent a wide range of entities, including corporations Iberdrola and Deutsche Bank, investment firms Arjuna Income and Impact Fund, Treehouse Investments, Ceniarth and Etho Capital, and foundations DOEN Foundation, Calvert Foundation, and Packard Foundation.
To date, about 1 out every 4 of SunFunder’s accredited investors have made repeat investments in Solar Notes. Of the Solar Notes investors that have been repaid, 65% have reinvested their principal to more Solar Notes
SunFunder Progress and Goals
To date SunFunder has facilitated debt financing of $7 million to 22 solar companies in Africa and Asia while maintaining a default rate below 1%. To investors of our Solar Notes debt offering, we have maintained a 100% repayment rate.
SunFunder’s solar borrowers include companies such as d.light design, Greenlight Planet, SolarNow, Off Grid Electric, BBOXX, One Degree Solar, and others.
Over half a million people have gained access to clean and affordable solar energy as a result of SunFunder’s work.
SunFunder is catalyzing a solar finance ecosystem and aims to finance billions of dollars into solar energy assets beyond the grid. Hints of that ecosystem are already surfacing; many of the solar companies that have received some of the $131 million total equity investments in 2015 are also SunFunder borrowers.
