The Netherlands Development Finance Corporation (FMO) is providing €5.5 million in funding to solar energy provider SolarX. The company will use the funding to provide solar energy to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Sahel.
Solar energy provider SolarX is getting funding to expand its activities in the Sahel. The Bamako, Mali-based company has raised €5.5 million from the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and the Building Prospect Fund, a Dutch government facility dedicated to private investments in the agri-food value chain, infrastructure and climate in developing countries.
The financing is provided by the FMO in the form of a convertible note and Series B redeemable preference shares. SolarX intends to use the funds raised to accelerate the development of its operations in the Sahel where it finances and supplies solar energy to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers.
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“FMO is delighted to support the SolarX team in expanding its operations in the Sahel region, providing clean, affordable and reliable energy to its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients who rely on high-cost diesel generators and an unreliable grid,” says Corine Franken, investment manager of the FMO Ventures programme, through which the Dutch financial institution provided funding to SolarX.
Through its investments, the solar energy provider believes it is contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on universal access to clean and sustainable energy. SolarX is active in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. In developing its activities in the Sahel, the company also relies on funding from Energy Access Ventures (EAV), a seed investment fund that invests heavily in renewable energy in Africa. Recently, the company signed a partnership with French multinational Schneider Electric to integrate technology solutions into solar photovoltaic systems deployed in SMEs.
Jean Marie Takouleu
