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Norfund will join the BLK1 scheme to provide financing for Kenyan SHS developer d.light.
- It is believed that the BLK1 scheme will provide electricity access to 1.9 million people in the Easter African nation.
Norwegian government investment organisation, Norfund will invest $15 million in the Brighter Life Kenya 1 Limited (BLK1) scheme. The scheme was launched last year to help facilitate dollar home systems (SHS0 financing in Kenya. The US$65 million facility was set up by Solar Frontier Capital Limited (SFC), a subsidiary of Mauritius-based African Frontier Capital. The facility was created to enable acquisition of receivables on pay-as-you-go SHS from Kenyan developer d.light.
The $15 million investment will add to the $20million per debt financing already committed by the American Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for the BLK1 facility. Norfund believes its financing will enable d.light to pay its suppliers until they get the money back into their accounts, allowing them to increase SHS deployment. It is expected that the BLK1 scheme will enable the provision of electricity services to 1.9 million people in Kenya with an added $88 million in revenue for the economy while reducing CO2 emissions by 600,000 tonnes.
BLK1 will provide d.light Kenya with local currency financing (up to 27 million Kenyan shillings) over a two-year commitment period for purchased receivables. It is part of a series of instruments to provide the renewable energy provider access to sustainable and affordable financing.