Finance for the businesses rolling out inclusive renewable energy
We lend to early-stage SMEs deploying renewable energy and electrification in the UK and Africa, where the business model spreads the economic benefit: lower bills, new income, local jobs, local ownership. We are looking for businesses that are proven in instances and need affordable debt to go further.
$30k–$150k, in local currency where we can
Patient, affordable, unsecured or lightly secured
For kit, inventory, hiring, and fulfilling orders, not for research or pre-revenue development
Loan ladders: repeat lending on better terms as repayment and good-practice milestones are hit
What we lend
What we look for
Revenue, or signed orders, that show demand is real
Unit economics that work without subsidy
A model where financial performance and distributed impact move together, not trade off
Founders who own their business and want to keep it that way
Where we are lending now
Solar for social housing and community-linked energy in the UK. Household and small-business solar, productive-use energy and clean cooking across Africa, currently Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe
INTERESTED?
What we are thinking about…
What does human + frugal AI look like?
There is a lot of excitement about replacing humans with machines. We are interested in how AI can be used as a tool to help people achieve what they could not before. Instead of power hungry models chasing frontiers we are interested in ‘frugal’ AI - solutions that deliver as efficiently as possible and with local benefits.
How can we be an “anti-enshittification” fund?
Energy is shifting from commodities we burn to technologies like solar, wind, batteries, and digital solutions. These can be distributed, connected, modular and therefore built, owned and run completely differently. It is also means they can succumb to ‘enshittification’ - the degradation of digital techologies as they prioritise profit over shared value. We look for solutions that ensure this does not happen.