DPA K Secures Debt Facility With Mirova SunFunder

Distributed Power Africa Kenya Limited  (DPA K) has secured a debt funding facility from Mirova SunFunder to deploy solar energy solutions to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in Kenya.

Mirova SunFunder is a leading impact investor, solving energy access and climate change challenges in frontier markets, primarily Africa, by providing clean energy financing.

This first debt funding facility to DPA K will enable the company to unlock additional solar energy solutions for their customers in the C&I sector.

According to Valérie Levkov, chairwoman of DPA K and Senior VP of Africa and Middle East at EDF, “We are excited to partner with Mirova SunFunder in scaling up renewable energy access for the C & I sector in Kenya. We believe energy is a key pillar in supporting Africa’s economic development and digital transformation. With this investment, we expect to see increased uptake of renewable energy by enterprises in Kenya”.

 “Given DPA’s existing partnership with EDF, the relationship with Mirova Sunfunder will ensure that C&I businesses in Kenya can adopt hybrid solar energy and lithium battery technology for energy resilience, increased business efficiencies, and reduced carbon footprints,” said Hardy Pemhiwa, Group President & CEO of Cassava Technologies.

For Mirova SunFunder, this is another milestone in expanding their provision of funding in the Kenyan market through their Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund, which has been fully deployed. To further accelerate the adoption of renewable energy and climate solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and other emerging markets, they are working on a new fund of $500 million, the Gigaton Fund.           

“Mirova SunFunder’s local presence and financial expertise combined with the extensive customer pipeline of a leading pan-African company like DPA K will accelerate the scaling of cost-effective solar energy solutions to businesses in this country,” commented Audrey Desiderato, Mirova SunFunder’s co-founder and COO.

“We are happy to have kicked off an important relationship with DPA K at a time when climate change is a reality for all of us. We have seen a growing demand for solar in the C&I sector in Kenya, and we believe this facility will enable DPA to execute on their growing pipeline,” said Jemimah Kwakye-Fosu, Mirova SunFunder’s senior investment officer leading the transaction.

The funding vehicle established as a subsidiary of Mirova SunFunder Inc. and is known as SET Fund. SET is a Delaware-registered LLC (Limited Liability Company). SET is closed to investors. Mirova SunFunder is a management company. Supervisory authority approval is not required for this fund vehicle.

The Gigaton Fund project aims to be structured in the form of a SICAV RAIF (Société d’Investissement à Capital Variable, Reserved Alternative Investment Fund) under Luxembourg law. At this stage, it has not received approval from any supervisory authority. The investment objective, strategy, and key risks for this vehicle will be outlined in its regulatory documents.