d.light raises $176 Million debt to provide off-grid solar power in East Africa

d.light, a global provider of affordable household solar solutions solar solutions for low-income households recently announced the closing of a new $176 million securitisation (debt)  deal to support its growth in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Social impact-focused asset management company African Frontier Capital partnered with d.light to fund the new financing facility to support consumer loans for solar and high-efficiency appliances in East Africa.

d.light CFO Ron Pfende described how the company has adapted to the challenges of the current global economic conditions. 

"The difficult macro-economic circumstances of recent years, caused by the pandemic and further disrupted by the war in Ukraine, continue to impact people's daily lives,” Pfende said “Disposable income has decreased, and those already on a low income now have even less money to spend."

The facility will help d.light enable access to reliable and renewable energy for an estimated number of 6 million people across 3 countries over the next 3 years.

Due to the pressure on household incomes, d.light has adopted a product strategy to cater to individual customers' needs by unbundling multiple solar-powered packages into single products available for purchase individually, financed by d.lights PayGo service. 

According to a company statement, the facility will be able to scale up its PayGo consumer finance program making solar-powered products more available to low-income households and communities with zero access to electricity. 

d.light has a proven track record of using securitized financing to make its affordable solar-powered household products accessible to off-grid communities in East Africa. They've achieved this through partnerships with distributors in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania since 2010.