Africa focused off grid hybrid solar power solutions provider Daystar Power has raised $38 million in a Series B investment round to help grow its operations in Nigeria and Ghana, which are key markets for the company. The financing, it explained, will also enable it to deepen its presence in other African nations as Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.
The management said it is on track to expand its installed capacity to over 100 MW as it caters to demand for hybrid solar solutions from various sectors as financial services, manufacturing, agricultural and natural resources sectors. The company currently claims to have 23 MW of installed power capacity through its 100% solar power and hybrid power solutions with battery storage offerings to commercial and industrial businesses in the regions where it operates.
Led by Danish development finance institution called Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the investment round brings to Daystar Power newer investors as French impact infrastructure fund STOA, and French development finance institution Proparco.
Daystar Power says the investment is backed by a European Union (EU) guarantee under the Africa Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
"By offering our commercial and industrial clients cheaper, reliable and cleaner power, we have seen a more than 50-fold increase in power-as-a-service revenue over the last two years," said CEO and Co-founder of Daystar Power, Jasper Graf von Hardenberg. "African businesses are realizing that solar power — stand-alone or in tandem with a second power source — is a superior energy alternative to the often-unreliable grid or too expensive, polluting diesel generators."
In March 2019, the company had raised $10 million from Verod Capital Management and Persistent Energy Capital, along with an additional $16 million as debt financing to help it expand across West Africa (see Daystar Power Raises $10 Million For Expansion).
Together this $38 million and $10 million financing takes the company's total equity investments to $48 million, some part of which it plans to also invest in enhancing its digital offerings and expanding local teams.
In November 2020, the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria roped in 2 developers to encourage adoption of solar hybrid mini grids under Nigeria Electrification Project (see Efforts To Promote Solar Hybrid Mini Grids In Nigeria).