Standard Bank Group, Citi, CDC Group and Norfund have announced a partnership to provide a USD 75 Million sustainable finance facility to off-grid solar home solutions provider Greenlight Planet Kenya.
The facility will allow Greenlight Planet to expand access to off-grid solar solutions to off-grid communities throughout Kenya and support its ambitions to reach an additional 10 million households in the next 5 years.
Citi served as the Sole Coordinator on the transaction, while Standard Bank acted as Sustainability Coordinator and executed the FX conversion to facilitate the repayment of the parent loan, in turn aiding local currency funding.
The Kenya Shilling denominated loan will minimize Greenlight Planet’s exposure to currency exchange fluctuations, allowing the business to focus on growth.
Existing investors who participated in the deal include CDC Group and Norfund. Dentons acted as lender’s legal counsel on the deal and Power Africa provided legal support and advice.
Greenlight Planet Kenya is a subsidiary of Greenlight Planet Inc, a leading designer, distributor and financier of rooftop solar home systems for off-grid and weak-grid homes. With a network of 200 branches and 8,000 field agents, Greenlight sells its Sun King-branded solar energy systems directly to its off-grid residential clients and provides ‘pay-as-you-go’ financing to facilitate their purchase.
