Daystar Power Group has now been acquired by Shell Overseas International B.V. (SOI B.V.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc (Shell) (Daystar).
Daystar, a provider of integrated solar power solutions, provides dependable electricity to businesses in West Africa, assisting customers in lowering power costs and pollution.
Sub-Saharan Africa has enormous potential as a solar market, and the customer base acquired by Shell through this transaction will provide a solid foundation for future expansion.
Daystar Power Group announced the signing of an agreement to be acquired by Shell on September 28, 2022.
Daystar will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell under its current brand inside Shell’s Renewable & Energy Solutions business.
Shell’s existing operation in Nigeria has been serving consumers for almost 40 years. Shell Nigeria has further information.
Shell is investing in increasing generation capacity around the world. Shell currently has over 46 gigatonnes of renewable generation potential in our portfolio (Shell equity), including 2.2 gigatonnes in operation, 3 gigatonnes under construction/contract, and 40.9 gigatonnes of potential capacity in our pipeline, ranging from utility-scale solar to innovative floating wind projects and integrated wind to hydrogen projects.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh
Daystar Power, a leading provider of hybrid solar power solutions to businesses in West Africa, announced today the successful completion of a $20 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Daystar Power has raised $62 million in funding this year, following a $38 million series-B investment in January and a $4 million financing for its Ghanaian subsidiary with DEG.
Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, CEO and Co-founder of Daystar Power.
“This facility is a major milestone for us. The funds will allow us to grow our installed capacity of solar projects and serve more Nigerian businesses in need of clean and affordable power. But we gain more than just capital. IFC brings a wealth of in-depth knowledge of renewable energy projects and project finance in emerging markets. We’re delighted to work with them,” said Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, CEO and Co-founder of Daystar Power.
The loan will be used to invest in hybrid renewable energy systems by Daystar Power’s Nigerian subsidiary. The financing consists of a $10 million subordinated loan from the Canada-IFC Renewable Energy Program for Africa and a $10 million IFC local currency loan. Daystar is also collaborating with the IFC’s Energy2Equal program, which is supported by the Canadian government, to address gender disparities and enhance women’s engagement in renewable energy, with a focus on leadership and technical positions.
By 2024, Daystar Power intends to increase its installed solar power capacity to 140MW, expanding its client base in the financial services, manufacturing, and agricultural industries. In Nigeria, the firm now manages and operates 150 power plants.
A Look At What Daystar Power Does
Founded in 2017 by the African venture builder Sunray Ventures, Daystar Power specialises in providing solar power and energy efficiency solutions for businesses in the commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors that result in significant reduction of power costs, diesel consumption and pollution.
Daystar Power counts the West African region’s leading industrial and commercial companies among its client base and is active in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Senegal with a representative office in Cote d’Ivoire.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning writer
Daystar Power, a Nigerian based provider of hybrid solar power solutions to businesses that has operations in Ghana, Togo and Senegal has announced a Series B investment of US$38 million to help it deepen its presence in various West African markets. Daystar Power which was founded three years ago as an off-grid power service provider whose solutions, “Solar-as-a-Service” and “Power-as-a-Service” provide clean and reliable power while significantly reducing clients’ overall power costs.
Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Daystar Power
Daystar which also has a representative office in Abidjan has 23 megawatts of installed power capacity and has offset approximately 5,000 MT of CO2 to date. This US$38 million Series B round, which takes Daystar’s total raised funding to US$48 million, was led by the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the Danish development finance institution (DFI), and also features French impact infrastructure fund STOA, Frenc DFI Proparco, backed by a guarantee from the European Union under the African Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
With the fundraising, Daystar Power will grow its operations in its key markets of Nigeria and Ghana, while deepening its presence in other regional countries. The company is on track to expand its installed capacity to over 100 megawatts, meeting demand from its clients in the financial services, manufacturing, agricultural and natural resources sectors. Daystar Power will continue to enhance its digital offerings and expand its local teams.
“By offering our commercial and industrial clients cheaper, reliable and cleaner power, we have seen a more than 50-fold increase in power-as-a-service revenue over the last two years,” said Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Daystar Power.
“African businesses are realising that solar power – stand-alone or in tandem with a second power source – is a superior energy alternative to the often-unreliable grid or too expensive, polluting diesel generators.”
Thomas Hougaard, vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa at IFU, said Daystar Power had the right elements – the client base, technology, engineering expertise, and executive leadership – to scale off-grid solar across West Africa. “Not only is Daystar Power at the forefront of a growing market, it is helping to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in some of Africa’s fastest growing cities,” he said.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Nigerian solar energy provider, Daystar Power is starting this year on a good note. With $38 million new funding from Investment Fund for Developing Countries and Morgan Stanley Investment Management and other investors, the firm will be looking to expand solar access across West Africa.
“Sunray Ventures founded Daystar Power to address one of West Africa’s most significant barriers to economic development — access to reliable and affordable power. We are happy that this transaction will provide Daystar Power with the required financing to continue to lead in off-grid solar for commercial and industrial customers in West Africa,” said Christian Wessels, Co-Founder of Daystar Power and Sunray Ventures.
Germans Messrs Jasper Graf von Hardenberg and Christian Wessels, founders Daystar Power
Here Is What You Need To Know
The round was led by the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the Danish development finance institution (DFI). IFU is joined by new investors STOA, a French impact infrastructure fund, Proparco, the French DFI, backed by a guarantee from the European Union under the African Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Taking into account the previous round by Verod Capital and Persistent Energy, Daystar Power has received equity investments totaling $48 million.
With the latest funding, the company plans to expand its installed power capacity to 100 megawatts from the current 23 megawatts. The new capital will also allow Daystar Power to accelerate its growth in key markets like Nigeria and Ghana, and open up in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.
Why The Investors Invested
“We believe that Daystar Power has the right elements — the client base, technology, engineering expertise, and executive leadership — to scale off-grid solar across West Africa. Not only is Daystar Power at the forefront of a growing market, it is helping to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in some of Africa’s fastest growing cities,” said Thomas Hougaard, Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa, IFU.
“STOA is excited to start this journey alongside Daystar which is perfectly positioned to provide reliable, environmentally friendly and cheap electricity to businesses across West Africa. This investment reflects a core part of our mission — we aim to invest more than 50% of our capital in Africa and in renewable energies,” said Charles-Henri Malecot, CEO, STOA.
“Proparco is delighted to support the growth of Daystar Power (DSP) which represents our third commitment under the ARESUF facility backed by the European Union. In line with Proparco’s objectives of improving energy access and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this funding will enable DSP to expand reliable power supply at competitive cost to West Africa’s C&I sector,” Damien Braud, Head of Private Equity Africa & Middle East division, Proparco.
“Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Climate Impact Solutions fund seeks to generate compelling returns with a focus on helping to solve critical climate issues. Our aim in partnering with the team at Daystar Power is to help deploy clean energy at commercial scale — creating a positive, long-lasting environmental, health and financial impact in West Africa,” said Vikram Raju, Head of Climate Impact, Morgan Stanley Investment Management AIP Private Markets.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy only boasts of small-grid capacity of 2.8 megawatts as of 2019, with 52 of the 59 projects solar-powered, says Bloomberg. Only 55% of the country’s population is connected to the national electricity grid and those experience frequent power cuts of up to 15 hours per day.
DayStar Power funding DayStar Power funding DayStar Power funding
Founded in 2017 by the African venture builder Sunray Ventures, Daystar Power specialises in providing solar power and energy efficiency solutions for businesses in the commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors that result in significant reduction of power costs, diesel consumption and pollution.
Daystar Power counts the West African region’s leading industrial and commercial companies among its client base and is active in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Senegal with a representative office in Cote d’Ivoire. To date, Daystar has 23 MW of installed power capacity and has offset approximately 5,000 MT of CO2 to date.
“By offering our commercial and industrial clients cheaper, reliable and cleaner power, we have seen a more than 50-fold increase in power-as-a-service revenue over the last two years,” said Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, CEO and Co-founder of Daystar Power. “African businesses are realizing that solar power — stand-alone or in tandem with a second power source — is a superior energy alternative to the often-unreliable grid or too expensive, polluting diesel generators.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning writer
SunFunder, a solar finance company providing debt capital to solar enterprises in emerging markets, has announced its first disbursement in Nigeria, part of a facility of up to $4m with commercial and industrial (C&I) solar developer, Daystar Power.
Rim Azirar, Investment Officer at SunFunder
“We are delighted to support Daystar’s growth with a project finance-like structure that can support the company’s strategy for rapid buildout in Nigeria, through their highly scalable business model,” said Rim Azirar, Investment Officer at SunFunder. “The Daystar team offers its clients power solutions tailored to their operations and is impressively scaling the company’s reach by standardising deployment, both important factors in the emerging and often fragmented C&I solar sector in Africa.”
Here Is All You Need To Know
Daystar Power specialises in providing solar power and energy efficiency solutions for businesses in the commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors that result in significant reduction of power costs, diesel consumption and pollution. SunFunder’s investment in up to 3MWp of C&I projects for clients including top tier financial institutions and other small and medium-sized enterprises will mitigate 102,410 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
The company’s success combines a high value offering with cost minimisation through optimised solutions design combined with a professional maintenance program. Daystar’s mission is to provide an African sustainable energy solution that results in a minimum 20 % reduction in energy costs and 50% reduction in diesel consumption for end users.
Christian Wessels, co-founder and executive of Daystar Power, comments: “We are happy to partner with SunFunder in our mission to bring clean, continuous and affordable power to West African businesses in support of their growth and environmental goals.
The support of SunFunder enables the beginning of a new phase of accelerated growth for our company.
Daystar is a pioneer in the market, offering end-users increased reliability as well as lower energy costs through solar and storage systems.
SunFunder and Daystar are also well aligned on gender parity. Both companies boast leadership teams comprising almost 50% women. Furthermore, SunFunder was co-founded by a woman and the chief executive of Daystar in Ghana is the youngest female Nigerian CEO in West Africa’s renewable energy sector.
Daystar actively hires female engineers and managers and seeks to create an environment where women can drive development in Africa.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com
