Oriano Solar gets Rs 20 crore from Samridhi Fund

Rs. 20 crore fund from Samridhi Fund will be used by Oriano Solar to finance working capital requirements and expand 45-member team

Mumbai-based startup Oriano Solar has raised series A funding worth Rs 20 crore from Samridhi Fund, which is managed by SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The Series A investment comprises a mix of debt and debenture, it will be used to finance working capital requirements and expand 45-member team by adding at least 25 people in business development and technology said Oriano Solar chief executive Sachin Jain speaking to ET.  He further added SIDBI Ventures is keen to invest another $1.5 million (Rs 9.75 crore) depending on the growth of the company.

Oriano Solar, incorporated in June 2015 specializes in Solar EPC (Turnkey and BoS) for Utility Scale Solar Power Plants, Solar farms and Rooftops. Oriano has executed 85+ MW of solar projects (including turnkey EPC for 23 MW single location utility-scale PV power plant in Pavagada, Karnataka). Additionally, Oriano has executed 10+ MW of Rooftops for leading MNCs and India’s Top 100 companies across 6 states. Oriano has a current EPC pipeline of 100+ MW Utility-Scale and 20+ MW of Rooftops.

In the last one year, the company has grown almost 10 times from less than Rs 5 crore revenues to over Rs 50 crore revenues. The startup is chasing a revenue target of Rs 200 crore in FY18.

“Meeting working capital requirements is the biggest challenge for startups in this space, especially since margins are thin and clients mostly do not make upfront payments,” said  Jain.

The projects the company undertakes typically range from 1 megawatt to 10-20 MW. These require 440 acres of land and cost Rs. 4 crore to Rs 40 crore, he said.