Solar energy has experienced major scale globally in recent years. Today, as prices continue to drop and technologies improve, developing countries are beginning to capitalize on its offerings. Startups are popping up all over Sub-saharan Africa and rural India, offering BoP consumers access to clean, sustainable electricity at affordable prices. Below are articles highlighting the opportunities that solar offers to developing countries, and how startups, like our portfolio companies Simpa Networks and SolarNow are experiencing … read more
Energy for Development
At Invested Development, we invest in companies with products and services aimed at solving global energy poverty as access to energy impacts almost all other aspects development. Below are recent articles highlighting the role that energy plays in the development of emerging markets. Microgrids Life Villages Out of Dark Age by Megha Bahree on Nikkei Asian Review Our portfolio company, Simpa Networks, based in India, is playing a crucial role in bridging the “power … read more
Simpa Networks announces commercial debt financing to scale up its clean electricity solutions in rural India
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BANGALORE – 17 December 2014 – Simpa, which sells solar-as-a-service to energy-poor households and micro-enterprises in rural India, today announced that it has completed a $4 million debt financing round. The financing has been provided by Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, and by GDF Suez through their Rassembleurs d’Energies program.
An estimated 400 million people in rural India still do not have access to an electricity … read more
Progress in Solar for Energy Access
Access to clean, affordable energy for the rural poor is an issue that we are actively trying to solve. Solar power is a great solution, but solar products often have large up-front costs and the rural population can be skeptical about purchasing technologies they know little about. Entrepreneurs are taking the initiative to overcome these obstacles by creating innovative financing models or technical solutions such as integrating pay-as-you-go technologies with solar products, notably our own … read more