Off-grid solar firm d.light bags USD 50m in debt funding

Off-grid solar company d.light said over the weekend that it has raised USD 50 million (EUR 40.6m) in funding from several parties to continue its scale-up globally and expand its offerings.

The solar lighting and power products provider has secured the funds from the European Investment Bank (EIB), responsAbility Investments, Social Investment Managers & Advisors (SIMA), SunFunder and another mission aligned investor, it said in a statement.

The announcement by d.light comes after the EIB itself said in late March that it was providing USD 25 million in financing for the off-grid solar company to improve energy access in Africa.

D.light noted that from now on it will be using mostly debt funding rather than equity to finance its Pay-Go receivables and scale the business sustainably. The company launched its Pay-Go solar home system in 2016.

In January 2017, d.light raised USD 10.5 million from KLP Norfund Investments and from Beyond the Grid and Shell Foundation. This followed USD 22.5 million Series D and USD 7.5 million debt funding rounds.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.811)

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