Sun King, an off-grid solar energy provider focused on African and Asian markets, has raised an additional $70 million in equity investment. The investment brings Sun King’s series D funding round to a total of $330 million.
The energy company had initially raised $260 million from investment partners like General Atlantic’s climate investing venture, BeyondNetZero, and M&G investments, back in April, 2022. The additional investment was led by Leapfrog investment, where Ekta Partners acted as financial advisor for this transaction; Debevoise & Plimpton LLP provided legal advice to LeapFrog; and Goodwin Procter LLP provided legal advice to Sun King.
With this investment, Sun King said it will extend its pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solutions to more individuals and households in Africa and Asia who lack access to reliable power supply. The company will also use the funds to invest in energy solutions for appliances that are more energy-demanding, like the refrigerator.
Founded in 2007 by Patrick Walsh and Anish Thakkar, Sun King provides direct-to-customer (D2C) and (PAYG) solar distribution network that empower households and individuals to get cheap solar-powered electricity. The company also produces solar-powered home appliances, electronics, fans, phone chargers, televisions, radios, etc.
“With this Series D extension, Sun King has launched operations in Togo and Cameroon with plans to expand into new countries in 2023,” Thakkar said.
The company currently serves about 95 million across Africa and Asia, and it serves about 165,000 homes monthly across eight African countries. Sun King has also provided more than $500 million in solar purchase finance through a network of over 20,000 field agents, 36% of whom are women. The energy company recently expanded to Cameroon, Mozambique, Togo.
Speaking on the fundraise, and partnership with Leapfrog, co-founder, Anish Thakkar said:
“We are proud that LeapFrog is investing in Sun King to expand access to energy with renewable solar power. LeapFrog brings a wealth of experience meeting the needs of customers in the countries where we are working to make solar energy solutions easily accessible to everyone.”
Speaking on the partnership, Karima Ola, partner at LeapFrog Investments, said:
“Sun King is leading the way in providing sustainable, safe and reliable electricity access to emerging consumers in Africa and Asia. The company’s off-grid solar systems will be vital in filling the growing electricity accessibility gap and ensuring these emerging countries avoid the carbon dioxide emissions and detrimental health impacts that result from energy sources like diesel generators, wood burners and kerosene. Through innovative payment models, Sun King ensures that consumers don’t bear the upfront cost of a clean energy transition, allowing them to leapfrog directly to less carbon-intensive consumption. We are pleased to be partnering with Sun King for the next stage of their impressive growth journey.”
While growing rapidly, Sun King has remained consistently profitable. Since the closing of the initial General Atlantic-led Series D round in April 2022, the business has achieved 95% year-over-year revenue growth.