The African energy finance platform known as Nithio has recently made a substantial investment in SunCulture, a company specializing in solar irrigation and farming technology solutions. This financial backing comes through Nithio’s investment entity, Nithio FI, which operates under the Productive Use Appliance Financing Facility (PUAFF). PUAFF is a program designed to promote the adoption of productive use appliances throughout Africa and is managed by the international non-profit organization Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (Clasp), in collaboration with Nithio and support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP).

Nithio’s investment forms part of a syndicated debt facility totaling $12 million, primarily led by Mirova Sunfunder and funded through their solar energy transformation fund, Mirova, employing their Gigaton strategy. Triodos Investment Management also contributes to this initiative. This financial support is intended to assist SunCulture in financing inventory and receivables for its Kenyan subsidiary, specifically focusing on its productive-use renewable energy products, related appliances, and irrigation equipment.

The primary objective of this investment is to empower SunCulture to expand its customer base, with a particular emphasis on aiding smallholder farmers who require affordable and dependable access to energy and water for their agricultural endeavors.

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On September 26th, Nithio CEO Kate Steel emphasized, “SunCulture’s products have a proven impact on increasing agricultural productivity, income, and resilience for smallholder farmers. Through our investment, we aim to support SunCulture’s growth and scale, and contribute to the broader mission of GEAPP to accelerate the adoption of productive use appliances in Africa.”

SunCulture, established in 2012, was founded to address the persistent challenges faced by smallholder farmers, including labor-intensive manual irrigation and dependence on increasingly unpredictable rainfall for their crops. Over time, the company has developed, manufactured, financed, and serviced Internet of Things-enabled solar energy systems and irrigation equipment tailored for smallholder farmers. These innovations have helped farmers reduce costs and enhance productivity.

As a result of these efforts, SunCulture has been able to offer both direct sales and pay-as-you-grow financing through their distribution networks, resulting in the sale of over 45,000 units to date. Furthermore, SunCulture has introduced VeraSol tested non-battery and battery-equipped solar irrigation systems and expanded its market presence through international market entry, joint ventures, and governmental partnerships.

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SunCulture CEO Samir Ibrahim stated, “Through this support, SunCulture is primed to deepen its footprint within Kenya, responding to the urgent calls for food security, poverty alleviation, and climate resilience. This partnership empowers SunCulture to place game-changing tools in the hands of vulnerable smallholder farmers, supporting climate mitigation and adaptation at the individual, community, and national levels.”

PUAFF’s core mission revolves around increasing access to high-quality productive use appliances that enhance economic opportunities and well-being for off-grid and weak-grid consumers. The financing facility offers various forms of support, including procurement subsidies, capacity-building grants, distributor debt financing, and advisory services that focus on credit systems development for PUA companies and distributors.

Eligible appliances within PUAFF’s scope encompass energy-efficient, income-generating devices such as refrigerators, solar water pumps, agroprocessing equipment, sewing machines, among others. Recent recognition of 18 companies in East, West, and Central Africa through procurement subsidies and capacity-building grants underscores PUAFF’s dedication to catalyzing positive change. PUAFF’s financial initiatives are expected to reduce the cost of appliances for end-users by offering discounts on bulk solar appliance purchases and providing financing options to distributors, enabling them to offer products on credit.

Makena Ireri, the director of demand, jobs, and livelihoods at GEAPP, expressed, “The initiative aligns with our mission of promoting sustainable energy solutions that will avert future carbon emissions, while enabling increased access to clean energy and improving livelihoods through economic growth. By lowering the cost of high-quality, energy-efficient appliances and providing financing, we’re enabling jobs and livelihoods for thousands of people, supporting a low-carbon future.”

SunCulture Funding SunCulture Funding SunCulture Funding

Charles Rapulu Udoh

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

Efforts aimed at boosting agricultural production output in Africa received a boost with the planned solar-powered irrigation expansion drive across Africa being proposed by Kenyan based solar irrigation startup SunCulture. The startup which received a US$11 million debt funding round said it will deploy the fund to expand its operations across Sub-Saharan Africa. SunCulture was founded over seven years ago to offer solutions tailored to smallholder farmers, combining technology with pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing and value-add services. Claiming to be the first company to commercialise solar-powered irrigation in Africa, SunCulture currently reaches customers across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast.

It could be recalled that SunCulture which raised a US$14 million Series A funding round last year, has secured a US$11 million credit facility arranged by SunFunder, a financing company specialised in solar energy, and joined by new financial partners including the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Energy Inclusion Facility (OGEF); Triodos Investment Management, the Danish government’s Nordic Development Fund (NDF); and the investment company AlphaMundi. The startup which says it is the first company to commercialise solar-powered irrigation in Africa, will use the capital to expand further across the continent. It hopes to prevent the emission of 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year as farmers replace diesel pumps with solar ones whilst facilitating income growth and job opportunities in rural communities.

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“The past year was devastating for the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87 per cent are in a worse financial position due to the pandemic. Eighty-one per cent of SunCulture farmers, however, were able to increase their revenue from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food security and sovereignty, and it also helps lift people out of poverty. This facility further enables our efforts to support farmers by providing them with more of our solar solutions and faster,” said Samir Ibrahim, chief executive officer (CEO) at SunCulture.

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

Kenya’s energy startup, SunCulture, that provides solar power systems, water pumps and irrigation systems for smallholder farmers, has closed a Series A investment round of US$14 million to help it accelerate sales. The startup offers solutions tailored to smallholder farmers, combining technology with pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing and value-add services. Claiming to be the first company to commercialise solar-powered irrigation in Africa, SunCulture currently reaches customers across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast.

The funding round was led by Energy Access Ventures (EAV), a previous investor in SunCulture, and joined by Électricité de France (EDF), which also backed the company last year and in 2018. Acumen Capital Partners (ACP) and Dream Project Incubators (DPI) complete the investor roster.  SunCulture hopes to deploy the fund towards the acceleration of direct sales in Kenya while continuing to expand internationally, and fund existing product improvements and new product innovation.

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“Now more than ever, scaling access to clean energy and water is critical for food security, smallholder farmer livelihoods, and climate resilience. This is essential to the wellbeing of rural households, as well as farmers’ ability to support themselves in uncertain times. This equity raise puts us in a position to dramatically accelerate our growth and international expansion. We’re thrilled to work with this phenomenal coalition of investors, who have a deep understanding of our business and share our commitment to reaching underserved communities,” said Samir Ibrahim, SunCulture’s chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder.

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