Solarworks! and ElectriFI sign a $4M debt facility to accelerate its expansion in Mozambique
ElectriFI, a EU backed fund that specializes in the electrification and the access to electricity has signed a $4m debt facility with SolarWorks!, a leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar home system and energy services provider in Southern Africa.
After a successful equity round with strategic partners in 2018 (Persistent and the Portuguese energy utility company EDP) and a debt funding round earlier this year (SunFunder), SolarWorks! and ElectriFI have joined forces as well, preparing SolarWorks! for even faster expansion.
Jean-Denis Collin, Senior Investment Officer, who led the transaction for ElectriFI: “Based on the quality of their operations and management, we believe that SolarWorks! will have a significant impact in people’s lives in Southern Africa. They have a good group of strategic investors and really show a vision of how to scale up professionally”. “For ElectriFI, this transaction is exactly how we want it: a company with a strong track record and a great opportunity for us to strengthen our position as a fund that aims to offer customized funding for the off grid energy sector” complements Dominiek Deconinck, Fund Manager ElectriFI.
Arnoud de Vroomen, CEO and co-founder of SolarWorks!, commented: “ElectriFI really showed a good balance between offering the necessary conditions for a finance facility, while at the same time helping us shape the right funding proposal for our situation. We are really proud of how this process went and the way we worked together on this. The potential in our region is enormous. We have committed already more than 10 mln USD to Mozambique and this will at least double in the coming year. Partners like ElectriFI can add a lot of value in order to have a significant impact on millions of people’s lives and deliver good financial returns at the same time. With this facility we are another step closer to realizing our goal of being the nr 1 off-grid energy provider in the Southern African region”
Miguel Sottomayor, country director in Mozambique for SolarWorks! adds: “this year we will already impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Mozambique and with ElectriFI joining our strong group of strategic partners, we can really step up the pace. I feel privileged that another strong party like ElectriFI has committed to team up with us. In the coming years SolarWorks! will have a massive impact on providing access to energy for millions of people in Mozambique”.
About ElectriFI
ElectriFI, the Electrification Financing Initiative, is an impact investment facility with a mandate to invest in on- and off-grid early stage private companies and projects focusing on new/improved connections as well as on generation capacity from renewable energy sources in emerging markets. Typical business models include solar home systems, mini-grids, IPPs and captive power production. Core investors are the European Commission, Power Africa and the Government of Sweden.
ElectriFI is managed by EDFI Management Company NV in close association with the 15 European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) as well as many other like-minded investors. Find out more on www.electrifi.eu and www.edfi.eu.
About SolarWorks!
SolarWorks! is a Dutch company that has been active in Southern Africa for ten years, offering a range of quality solar products. Its key product line relates to Solar Home Systems (SHS) which give people access to energy for the first time in their lives and covers needs like lighting and charging mobile phones, while larger systems can offer television and refrigeration. SolarWorks! aims to be the dominant off grid services provider in Southern Africa.
Contacts:
Jean-Denis Collin
ElectriFI
jd.collin@edfimc.eu
Arnoud de Vroomen
SolarWorks!
a.devroomen@solar-works.nl
Miguel Sottomayor
SolarWorks! Mozambique
m.sottomayor@solar-works.co.mz