By Dipo Olowookere
A leading off-grid power service provider in Nigeria, Daystar Power, has secured an additional funding package aimed to accelerate its target of providing cleaner energy to many households in West Africa.
On Tuesday, the foremost provider of hybrid solar power solutions to businesses announced securing a Series B investment of $38 million.
According to the statement, the new funds will help the firm to expand its installed capacity to over 100 megawatts, meeting demand from its clients in the financial services, manufacturing, agricultural and natural resources sectors.
It said the money would be used to grow its operations in its key markets of Nigeria and Ghana while deepening its presence in other regional countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.
According to the CEO of Daystar Power, Mr Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, “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.”
“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,” he added.
Business Post gathered that the $38 million was provided by the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the Danish development finance institution (DFI) and other investors.
The other investors include STOA, a French impact infrastructure fund, Proparco, the French DFI, backed by a guarantee from the European Union under the African Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Taking into account the previous round by Verod Capital and Persistent Energy, Daystar Power has received equity investments totalling $48 million.
Commenting on why they supported Daystar Power with this funding package, the Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa of IFU, Mr Thomas Hougaard, stated that, “We believe that Daystar Power has the right elements — the client base, technology, engineering expertise, and executive leadership — to scale off-grid solar across West Africa. Not only is Daystar Power at the forefront of a growing market, it is helping to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in some of Africa’s fastest-growing cities.”
On his part, the CEO of STOA, Mr Charles-Henri Malecot, noted that, “STOA is excited to start this journey alongside Daystar which is perfectly positioned to provide reliable, environmentally friendly and cheap electricity to businesses across West Africa. This investment reflects a core part of our mission – we aim to invest more than 50% of our capital in Africa and in renewable energies.”
“Proparco is delighted to support the growth of Daystar Power (DSP) which represents our third commitment under the ARESUF facility backed by the European Union.
“In line with Proparco’s objectives of improving energy access and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this funding will enable DSP to expand reliable power supply at a competitive cost to West Africa’s C&I sector,” Damien Braud, Head of Private Equity Africa & Middle East division, Proparco.
“Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Climate Impact Solutions fund seeks to generate compelling returns with a focus on helping to solve critical climate issues.
“Our aim in partnering with the team at Daystar Power is to help deploy clean energy at commercial scale – creating a positive, long-lasting environmental, health and financial impact in West Africa,” said Vikram Raju, Head of Climate Impact, Morgan Stanley Investment Management AIP Private Markets
Adedapo Adesanya