Solar Frontier Capital

SFC was established as a dedicated impact investment vehicle to provide working capital to PAYGO SHS distributors in order to plug the financing gap which restricts these companies from reaching their full growth potential. We seek to provide – indirectly through PAYGO SHS distributors - consumer financing to consumers of renewable off-grid solar energy, allowing them to leapfrog the grid sustainably. By doing so, we seek to enable positive social and environmental impacts.

 

candlelight

1.2 billion people live without access to electricity.

 

A household spends roughly 30 – 50 cents a day on dirty and dangerous KEROSENE & other stop-gap measures.

This is changing
Power Africa

Photo: Power Africa

PAYGO SHS’s allow customers to pay in affordable instalments (~ same 30 – 50 cents a day they would spend on poor kerosene alternative). SHS includes: solar panel, battery, 2-5 modern LED lights, radio, an optional TV and allows users to pay with mobile money. SHS can be turned off automatically if payments are overdue.

When payment plan is complete (usually 12 -36 months) no further payments due: Free electricity

 

Over 73 million households are benefiting from improved electricity access through OGS products.

Working Capital Gap

PAYGO service providers currently require hundreds of millions of dollars in working capital financing. From 2017 to 2022, this

working capital gap will grow to USD 3.5 billion


Solar Frontier Capital
  • SFC is deploying a debt facility to provide local currency lending to PAYGO Companies
  • We are mobilizing institutional capital to help close the working capital gap
  • Package receivable assets (with hedged FX risk) into well understood & standardized finance offerings which institutional investors (& mainstream rating agencies) can more efficiently evaluate.
Scaling Off Grid Energy USAID

USAID Scaling Off-Grid Energy (SOGE):

  • SFC is a 2017 Awardee of the SOGE Grand Challenge for Development.
  • The SOGE Grand Challenge for Development is a global partnership of USAID, Power Africa, Shell Foundation, UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the African Development Bank.
  • SOGE aims to extend energy access to 20 million households across sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
  • SOGE is assisting with the facility structuring, financing & pipeline development.

IMPACT



lightbulb

In 2017, the global OGS sector is providing improved electricity access to approximately 73 million households, or over 360 million people, thereby transforming lives that were previously reliant on kerosene and solid fuels for most of their lighting needs.

money

Households have made roughly USD 10.4 billion in economic savings by switching from kerosene and/or other conventional fuels to OGS devices.
gas emissions

Well in excess of 26 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided through the reduced use of traditional lighting sources due to OGS devices.
health

45% of OGS users who previously used kerosene reported improved health especially respiratory and eye issues as well as reductions in burns and accidents.
people

A reported 1.9 million people have used OGS to support income generating activities.

Source: “Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2018 January 2018”, Dahlberg Advisors and Lighting Global