SunFunder exists to plug the financing gap for off-grid solar, which is the key bottleneck for scaling its impact for energy access, poverty reduction and emissions reduction. SAFI, finances off-grid solar companies to allow them to scale. To do so, we raise funds from investors through our Solar Note series (and the upcoming Beyond The Grid fund).
How does your innovation work?
SunFunder finances off-grid solar companies to allow them to scale. To do so, we raise funds from investors through our Solar Note series (and the upcoming Beyond The Grid fund). Our most recent innovation - the Structured Asset Financed Instrument (SAFI) - specifically aims to unburden PAYG companies from having to finance solar home systems themselves and then wait to recoup their PAYG payments, which stunts their ability to reach more people. SAFI works by taking the PAYG payments off the solar company's balance sheet. SunFunder, via SAFI, finances the solar systems and recoups the PAYG payments (e.g. weekly payments over two years). The solar company itself simply signs customers up and services their contracts - in other words, sticks to what it's best at. It has neither the financing of the systems on its balance sheet, nor the receivables from the PAYG payments. This in turn improves its balance sheet so it can attract other investment to grow, and gives it the option of arranging new SAFIs to continue to roll out the PAYG solution for energy access. Our long-term vision is that hundreds of successful PAYG solar companies around the world will need SAFI, and it becomes an essential tool to speed up the deployment of off-grid solar and, eventually, mini-grids. We have designed SAFI to be able to bring in and lower the risk for other investors, so we can unlock the much larger pools of capital required to deliver for the 1.2bn people living off the grid.