- d.light has secured $718 million across five facilities since 2020.
- This facility aims to provide renewable energy to around six million people in the region over the next three years.
Since 2020, d.light has secured about $718 million in financing across five facilities. As of 2023, the company had raised $490 million in securitised financing. These facilities include
Active in sub-Saharan Africa since 2010, d.light has operations in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Earlier this year, its Brighter Life Kenya 1 Limited facility repaid senior debt ahead of schedule, a first for the off-grid solar sector.
Over the years, the company has leveraged securitised financing to support solar-powered products, establishing four facilities since 2020, including two in Kenya and one each in Nigeria and Tanzania. The total value of these facilities, including the latest, stands at $718 million (Sh93.5 billion).
Over the past 17 years, d.light has positively impacted the lives of more than 175 million people across 72 countries.
Fundings Acquired Since 2020
2024
The most recent closing is a $176 million (Sh22.9 billion) financing package to expand its operations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Funded by African Frontier Capital, this investment will enhance d.light’s PayGo consumer finance model, making solar products more accessible for off-grid households.
In February 2024, d.light secured $7.4 million from Chapel Hill Denham for off-grid solar projects targetted at low-income households.
2023
Another funding secured by the firm in August, is a $30 million secritisation facility from from the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), with the capability to purchase up to $125 million of receivable assets.
2022
The Beyond the Grid for Africa (BGFA) programme gave d.light Design Uganda and Engie Energy Access Uganda a performance-based grants worth $5.2 million to install 200,000 and 170,000 solar home systems (SHS) in Uganda, respectively.
The company also secured $238 million in par value receivables financing over a two-year commitment period as part of Brighter Life Kenya 2 Limited (BLK2). This is a local currency SHS financing facility to benefit Kenya and other East African countries.
A $50 million line of credit opened by a consortium of lenders, including Mirova SunFunder, the TDB, and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) to deploy SHS.
2021
Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) group, invested $10 million in d.light’s SHS to expand its activities, especially on the African continent.
Norfund invested $15 million in the Brighter Life Kenya 1 Limited (BLK1) scheme. The US$65 million facility was set up by Solar Frontier Capital Limited (SFC), a subsidiary of Mauritius-based African Frontier Capital.