West African pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar firm PEG Africa has raised a US$25 million Series C funding round to take its overall procured investment to US$50 million.
PEG Africa offers credit for resources like solar home systems to underserved households in West Africa via a PAYG funding model, which enables customers to replace kerosene with solar power.
The company has completed a US$25 million Series C round from existing and new shareholders to take its total raised to date to US$50 million. The investment, which was secured near the end of last year, follows a US$13.5 million round in 2017 and two other rounds in 2016.
It serves over 60,000 households, with over 300,000 beneficiaries, through 70 service centers, and contains over 400 full-time employees and 550 commission-based earnings representatives.
Equity Funding Deal Terms
A total of US$20 million of those round is in debt, together with CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, organizing a US$15 million multi-credit facility, combined by existing lenders SunFunder and ResponsAbility.
The residual US$5 million comes from equity investments by existing investors Energy Access Ventures, Blue Haven Initiative, Investisseur & Partenaires, and Acumen Fund, and fresh investors Complete Energy Ventures and the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP).
“As the very first PAYG funding company to set up in West Africa, we have always believed that we could construct a large, profitable company by being laser centered on financing the solar needs of underserved clients in this region. Our solar solutions deliver better, cleaner and more affordable energy to our clients, and we have been capable of expanding rapidly and profitably while enhancing the lives of some of the weakest and most vulnerable in the countries we operate in”
PEG chief executive officer (CEO) Hugh Whalan
Off-grid Solar to Large West African Region
Over 150 million people live without access to electricity in West Africa and invest up to 30 percent of their incomes on inferior quality, polluting, and sometimes dangerous fuels like kerosene, candles, and batteries.
Acknowledging this growth potential, Ademidun Edosomwan, Senior Investment Manager at Total Energy Ventures stated’We have been after PEG for a while, and PEG’s leadership in West Africa, where Total also includes a huge footprint, made it a plausible investment’.
