(Credit: d.light)d.light, which provides sustainable products and financing for low-income households internationally, has secured $30 million from the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB), with the ability to purchase up to $125 million of receivable assets to help increase access to renewable energy in Tanzania.
The capital will be used to increase the company’s securitized financing facility in Tanzania and grow its Pay-Go personal finance service, which allows low-income households to purchase the company’s affordable, solar-powered home products. This expansion will be especially useful for meeting the demand for off-grid solar products needed in the most vulnerable communities in the country.
"This new financing from TDB gives us the extra funding to reach more low-income families and households in Tanzania via our Pay-Go business, in a way that is affordable for our customers and sustainable for our business," said Nick Imudia, CEO of d.light. "As a scalable method of financing, securitization is an important fiscal tool to help African countries achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals for energy access. Expect further expansion of this facility by d.light into other major sub-Saharan African markets during 2023."
According to the CEO of TDB, Michael Awori, d.light reached nearly 1.7 million people with the Pay-Go model in 2022. The company also created over 2,000 jobs and averted 1.3 million tons of carbon emissions in the process through its use of solar energy.
According to the World Bank, only 40% of Tanzania’s population has electricity access due to low grid connectivity and unreliable power supply in many parts of the country.
d.light has been selling its products there since 2008, and its finance facility in the country leverages payments from its customers to upscale the company’s reach and grow its market share within Tanzania. The solar industry has seen immense growth in recent years, and d.light shows that this growth may be leveraged toward more equitable access to energy globally.
The company, along with its lending partner, Africa Frontier Capital, will also use the incoming capital to finance Brighter Life Tanzania 1 Limited, which will expand its off-balance sheet securitization structures.
"These social impact securitizations are helping d.light to bring financial inclusion and access to reliable and clean energy to millions of people while simultaneously helping to ensure a just and equitable energy transition that benefits everyone,” said Eric De Moudt, Founder and CEO of AFC.
