Sun King has closed a KES 20.1 billion ($156M) local currency securitisation — the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa — to provide off-grid solar power to an estimated 1.4 million low-income homes and businesses in Kenya.
Why it matters
The landmark deal marks a major step in scaling up affordable, clean energy across Africa using pay-as-you-go (PAYG) models, which have already helped millions shift from kerosene and diesel to solar.
The details:
- The deal is Sun King’s second and largest Kenyan Shilling-denominated securitisation.
- Arranged by Citi, with Stanbic Bank Kenya as placement agent.
- Backed by 5 commercial banks — Absa, Citi, Co-operative Bank, KCB, and Stanbic — and 3 development finance institutions — British International Investment, FMO (Dutch), and Norfund (Norwegian).
- The securitisation is rated privately and issued under Sun King’s Sustainable Financing Framework, which received a Very Good (SQS2) score from Moody’s.
Zoom in
Sun King’s PAYG model lets customers buy solar kits for as little as KES 25 ($0.19) per day via mobile money. The model converts future repayments into investable assets, allowing the company to raise long-term, local currency debt.
By the numbers
- $1.3B in solar loans disbursed to nearly 10M customers across Africa
- 30% of Kenyan homes already use Sun King solar
- Combined with its 2023 deal, Sun King aims to deliver 3.7 million solar products and smartphones in Kenya
What they’re saying:
“Millions of off-grid households have switched to solar thanks to small ‘pay-as-you-go’ loans. This deal signals a major turning point for green energy finance in Africa,” said Anish Thakkar, Co-Founder of Sun King.
“It shows that African commercial banks believe in the power of pay-as-you-go solar and are ready to back it with serious capital. Return-seeking, local capital in local currency is essential to unlocking the scale and speed needed to achieve universal energy access.
“This securitisation demonstrates the effectiveness of pay-as-you-go business models to reach underserved communities at scale and the role of development finance institutions to mobilise private capital,” said Jorge Rubio Nava, Citi’s Global Head of Social Finance.
“Over the last few years, we’ve successfully partnered with Sun King to develop innovative financial tools that bring sustainable and affordable energy solutions to millions of households across Kenya and beyond
The big picture
The transaction supports Kenya’s push for near-universal electricity by 2030, aligned with Mission 300 — a World Bank and AfDB-led goal to connect 300M Africans to electricity. Experts say mobilising local capital is key to achieving that target.
Learn more about other African tech startups on Labari Insights, our data repository for tech in Africa: insights.techlabari.com
