Solar Business: Greenlight Planet Raises $60 Million led by Apis Partners

Greenlight Planet will use the new debt and equity capital to expand its solar-energy product lines, distribution networks, and financing capabilities in Africa and Asia

Renewable energy firm Greenlight Planet Inc has raised $60 million in a funding round led by London-based private equity fund manager Apis Partners.

The debt and equity round, which was led by Apis Growth Fund I, also saw the equity participation of existing investors Eight Roads Ventures and Bamboo Capital Partners, the company said in a statement.

Debt investments included new disbursements from the company’s earliest institutional lenders, Deutsche Bank and Global Partnerships, as well as from SunFunder, PG Impact Investments, responsAbility and SIMA Funds, it added.

Freshfields acted as the legal advisor to Apis Partners.

Greenlight Planet will use the new debt and equity capital to expand its solar-energy product lines, distribution networks, and financing capabilities in Africa and Asia. There, over a billion people lack reliable access to electricity, finding it too expensive or unavailable.

 “Today, for less than the cost of a single electrical pole, we can provide a solar home system with enough energy to power a complete range of appliances needed by rural consumers. Apis’s investment will allow us to continue expanding access to these life-changing products,” said Patrick Walsh, co-founder and CEO of Greenlight Planet.

“We look forward to drawing upon the expertise of Apis Partners to build on our mission to connect off-grid, unbanked populations to power and financing. This is the first step toward solutions for an expanded range of life necessities, from cookstoves to fans, TVs and more,” said Anish Thakkar, co-founder of Greenlight.

“We see an opportunity to leverage Greenlight Planet’s distribution partners, technology and platform to offer broader appliance financing to underserved Africa populations. Greenlight’s PAYG system offers a financing product embedded within the sale of a physical product, and this context-based approach to financial services will drive widespread financial inclusion in growth markets,” said Udayan Goyal, co-founder and managing partner at Apis Partners.

Last year, the company had has raised $5 million in its fourth round of funding led by Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government development finance institution. Prior to that, it had raised $10 million in its third round of Series B financing from Fidelity Growth Partners.

Greenlight said it has been profitable in each of the last 10 financial quarters. It claims to operate the world’s largest direct-to-consumer, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar product distribution business, with over 2,400 company-managed sales agents in five countries, selling more than 25,000 solar products to off-grid consumers each month.