AFRICA – d.light, a leading innovator of solar, lighting and sustainable products has secured a US$15 million financing round led by Inspired Evolution via its Evolution II Fund.
Other investors that participated in the round included Shell New Energies, FMO, Norfund, Swedfund, and KawiSafi Ventures.
This capital raise will bolster the company’s plans to continue growing its Pay-Go consumer finance business in key markets across Africa.
“We are pleased to support the company with additional capital for growth and to secure the support from many of the existing shareholders during these difficult Covid-19 times,” Wayne Keast, Co-Managing Partner of Inspired Evolution, said.
This latest round of funding, in addition to the US$10 million raised from Proparco in May, brings the total to US$25 million raised this year by the company, underscoring the confidence investors have in the industry and d.light despite the pandemic.
After reaching its founding goal of impacting 100 million lives by 2020, d.light has embarked on another ambitious journey to impact 1 billion lives by 2030 with transformative products.
“We are grateful for the continued support of our investors during these uncertain times. Thanks to our focus on financial discipline and operational excellence, d.light minimised the pandemic’s impact to our business,” said d.light co-founder and CEO Ned Tozun.
“We are now in a strong position to accelerate our plans to expand our Pay-Go operations and enter new product categories and markets in the near future.”
The company provides customers with a broad portfolio of sustainable solutions, ranging from portable solar lanterns to financed solar home systems and related aspirational products, such as smartphones and televisions.
d.light’s award-winning products are sold through over 30,000 outlets.
The company, founded by Ned Tozun and Sam Goldman, offers kits ranging from solar lanterns to solar home systems, capable of powering several LED light bulbs, as well as mobile phones and a radio or small television.
In Africa, this equipment is mainly distributed in rural areas where households have limited purchasing power and low access to electricity.
The distribution of solar home systems is facilitated by pay-as-you-go, which in turn is facilitated by mobile banking, available everywhere, even in remote areas.
In May this year, d.light raised US$10 million from Proparco, the subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) group responsible for private sector financing.
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