Orb Energy has raised more than $15 million in equity and debt to grow its in-house finance facility of rooftop solar for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India and to further expand its Kenya operations.
As part of this round, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) provided $4 million USD in equity, and Orb signed a loan agreement with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) – the United States development finance institution – for $10 million USD in long-term debt. Funds will be used for growth of Orb’s unique in-house platform in India that provides finance to SMEs looking to reduce electricity costs through ownership of a rooftop solar system.
Orb is a leading provider of solar energy systems, with more than 150,000 systems sold in India since 2006. Unique to the solar industry, Orb is vertically integrated, manufacturing its own solar photovoltaic modules and solar water heating systems in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Orb offers a finance facility to SMEs that matches their payback period, after which all their power is effectively free. Furthermore, Orb’s credit check is quick, often completed in less than seven days, and its finance products require no collateral. This easy access to reasonable cost finance is driving solid growth in Orb’s commercial sales of rooftop solar systems.
Additionally, Orb successfully raised more than $1 million USD for Orb’s solar operations in Kenya. Pamiga, an investor in African finance institutions and small- to medium-sized enterprises, provided $500,000 in equity, and $550,000 came from DEG – Germany’s development finance institution – using funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (BMZ) Upscaling Programme. These funds will be used to further expand Orb’s residential and commercial solar business in Kenya, where Orb has sold more than 10,000 systems since 2014.
Investors in Orb Energy include FMO (The Netherlands), Bamboo Capital Partners (Switzerland), Rianta Capital (Switzerland), Acumen Capital Market Funds I (USA), and Pamiga SA (Luxembourg)
