D.Light Harnesses $125m to Boost Off-Grid Solar Solutions in Tanzania
Posted on : Thursday, 17th August 2023
d.light, a firm focused on household products and finance solutions for low-income households, has unveiled a successful $30m securitization facility.
This facility, generously backed by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), is structured with the prowess to acquire up to a staggering US$ 125m worth of receivable assets.
In essence, d.light champions the mission of providing affordable solar-powered household commodities. This financial thrust will empower the company to bolster its current securitized financing facility in Tanzania. Moreover, it is aimed at the expansion of its economically viable Pay-Go personal finance service, catering to the low-income demographics of the country.
The grand vision to make the dream of possessing d.light’s transformative solar-powered household products a reality for many more Tanzanian families.
It’s not the company’s 1st rodeo in securing investment. Since year 2020, d.light has impressively mustered a whopping US$ 490m in total securitized financing. The recent financing endeavour in Tanzania finds its anchor with TDB.
Nick Imudia, the steadfast CEO of d.light, commented, “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.”
Further elaborating on their innovative financing model, he added, “d.light and our lending partners are long-time pioneers in developing securitized finance as an innovative, scalable financing model for raising equity for off-grid solar that is guaranteed against current and future customer sales. We’ve successfully used the securitization model for several years in Kenya and now we and our partners are expanding it to Tanzania.”
Adding his 2 cents, Michael Awori, CEO of TDB, shared, “Access to energy is crucial to the sustainable development of the continent, especially for the most vulnerable off-grid communities. As one of the leading renewable energy financiers in the region, we are delighted to extend this 2nd facility to d.light, this time in Tanzania. Globally, in 2022 alone the company reached over 1,677,216 people through PAY-GO model, created close to 2,000 jobs, and averted 1,329,371 tons of CO2 and black carbon emissions with solar replacing kerosene lamps. This is the kind of impactful track record TDB is keen to support.”
Touching upon the broader implications, Imudia highlighted, “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.”
For context, Tanzania, home to a sprawling population of 63.6 million, grapples with power issues. With only 40 percent of its residents having access to electricity, d.light’s initiative becomes all the more crucial. Since 2008, d.light has been a beacon of hope for many Tanzanians, and with this new injection of funds, the company is set to further its reach.
In April, d.light marked the achievement of impacting over 150 million lives globally with its unique solar-powered products.
To cap it off, Eric De Moudt, AFC’s founder and CEO, shared, “We are very happy to announce the launch of our latest social impact securitization, BLT1, which further expands our industry leading off-balance sheet securitization structures into new jurisdictions for d.light and brings the total volume of local currency receivables being financed to almost US$ 500M. 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.”
