Singapore-based solar energy startup SolarHome announced that it has raised $10 million in debt financing from a consortium of investors including Japan-based cross-border crowdfunding platform Crowdcredit and Sweden-based crowdfunding platform Trine, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The investment follows on the $4.2 million raised via convertible notes earlier this year from Trirec, Insitor Impact Asia, Beenext, and a group of Singapore-based family offices. The new capital will enable the startup to accelerate its expansion across Myanmar. Having already installed close to 28,000 solar home systems, the startup aims to reach 100,000 homes with its product packages by end of 2019. “Accessing debt finance on such a scale at this stage in our development has significantly outperformed our expectations. The new funding will enable us to accelerate our growth in 2019 and bring clean energy to hundreds of thousands of off-grid households in Myanmar,” said SolarHome co-founder and CEO Ted Martynov. Launched in 2017 and backed by fintech venture builder FORUM, SolarHome has been expanding its product offerings with an aim to impact the overall livelihoods and financial inclusion of those living off-grid in rural Myanmar. It has been installing its pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar for off-grid homes at a rate of about 3,000 units each month. The World Bank Group’s Lighting Global Program and the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA) found that between 2012 and 2017, companies using the PAYG model accounted for about 85 per cent of growth in off-grid solar investments. The PAYG model is expected to continue fuelling the growth of solar home systems through 2022.
