US-based off-grid solar product manufacturer d.light has secured US$176 million to support its PayGo consumer loan offering in three African countries.
Asset management company African Frontier Capital has provided the news securitisation facility. d.light plans to use this capital to expand its PayGo consumer finance offering in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, aiming to make solar-powered products accessible to more low-income households and communities lacking electricity.
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With the new capital, d.light has now closed securitised financing with a total combined purchasing value of US$718 million across five separate facilities since 2020. Additionally in February, d.light announced that its US$110 million securitisation facility repaid its entire senior debt in full and ahead of schedule from internally generated cash flows.
“This new facility is another landmark step in d.light’s mission to provide people with affordable energy that is also clean, safe and sustainable,” said d.light CEO Nedjip Tozun.
d.light has presence in these African countries since the 2010s. It has had its own operations in Kenya since 2011, in Uganda since 2015 and in Tanzania since 2016.
Prior to securing this latest capital, d.light also obtained US$30 million to purchase up to US$125 million of receivable assets last year. The funding, obtained from the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group, will be used to increase its existing securitised financing facility in Tanzania and scale up its low-cost Pay-Go personal finance service in the country, allowing more low-income people and households to purchase the company’s solar-powered household products.
According to d.light’s information on its website, the company caters to the needs of customers who do not have access to reliable power or financing.
