Husk Power Secures $103M To Electrify Rural Africa And Asia With Solar Minigrids
Clean energy company Husk Power Systems has raised $103 million in equity and debt to launch over 1,000 new solar minigrids, electrifying rural Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia communities.
Solar mini-grids Husk Power Systems
Husk Power is the leading rural energy services company in weak-grid and off-grid communities in Africa and Asia.
The company was founded in 2008 to provide reliable power to rural communities and businesses from renewable energy sources at affordable prices.
The company does this through solar minigrids – a set of small-scale electricity generators and energy storage systems interconnected to a distribution network that supplies the electricity.
Since raising $25 million in equity funding in 2018, Husk has grown to launch more than 200 solar hybrid minigrids across two continents, impacting 500,000 people, according to their press release.
They also became the first minigrid company to become EBITDA positive – meaning that the company is profitable at an operating level- in Q4 2022 and built a team of over 500 employees.
Husk announced plans to launch 500 solar mini-grids in Nigeria over five years.
$103 million in equity and debt
Husk announced it had closed $43 million in Series D funding, the largest-ever equity raise in the minigrid industry.
The funding cements Husk’s position as the leader in electrifying communities in rural Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with an AI-enabled platform of renewable energy services.
The equity funding includes new investors STOA Infra & Energy, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Proparco, and existing investors Shell Ventures, Swedfund and FMO.
In addition, Husk has leveraged the Series D equity to secure an additional $60 million in debt from several finance institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Over the next five years, the new funding will grow Husk’s fleet eight times by adding more than 1,400 new minigrids with a projected 300,000 new connections.
They will also continue to build a world-class team and add 2,500 more employees while expanding into new markets in Africa and Asia.
“We have successfully created and scaled a rural energy platform that is life-changing for our communities from day one,” said Manoj Sinha, Husk Co-Founder and CEO.
“We’re excited to put this new equity and debt to work to supercharge Husk’s growth and unlock the full economic and social potential for a generation of rural Africans and Asians, especially women and youth, that would otherwise be left behind.”
