Productive Use of Renewable Power (PURE) applied sciences, particularly these within the photo voltaic irrigation and chilly chain phase, noticed elevated investor curiosity final yr, regardless of a 43% funding droop recorded within the international off-grid photo voltaic sector.
The worldwide affiliation for the off-grid photo voltaic vitality trade, GOGLA, says PURE applied sciences raised $65 million in 2023, double the earlier yr, owing to rising investor curiosity within the phase. Among the many startups that raised funding within the sector final yr is Figorr, which offers storage and transportation of temperature-sensitive products.
PURE applied sciences embody home equipment and merchandise like solar-powered water pumps, refrigerators, chilly rooms and agri-processing gear that enable improved or new revenue-generating actions, principally within the agriculture sector.
Laura Fortes, GOGLA senior Entry to Funding supervisor, instructed TechCrunch the applied sciences are attracting curiosity attributable to their transformative impression on livelihoods by way of innovation.
“These solutions mitigate climate change, enhance resilience and offer increased income opportunities for beneficiaries, including smallholder farmers and health clinics. By replacing outdated diesel water pumps and fossil-fuel-dependent coolers, especially in the face of climate change, they bolster resilience and small farmer incomes,” stated Fortes.
General, the off-grid photo voltaic sector raised $425 million final yr throughout 158 offers, with $281 million being debt. Solar King, d.mild, Engie Power Entry, M-KOPA, Zola and Bboxx accounted for 58% of the full investments. This reveals that a lot of the funding went to startups or scale-ups with a presence in Africa, the place these ventures present merchandise and options to deal with lack of energy access.
Globally, 75% of the inhabitants has no entry to electrical energy, 46% of these being from Africa. But, fairness funding in family photo voltaic startups remained low in what GOGLA says indicators a regarding failure to nurture new companies focused on electricity access that will likely be essential for attaining electrification objectives.
“2023 investment data shows that without more de-risking instruments and concessional financing, off-grid solar will not reach the scale needed to achieve global development goals. While many examples of successful blended finance structures that are catalytic already exist, we need more of them to multiply industry funding by seven,” stated Fortes.
