South African startup, Sun Exchange secures $3m to expand into new markets across Africa

South African peer-to-peer solar leasing platform, Sun Exchange has secured a $3 million investment as part of its Series A round to expand into new markets across the African continent.

The solar leasing platform has now closed a $4 million round with the fresh $3 million investment by the Africa Renewable Power Fund (ARPF), a Mauritian private equity fund advised by London-based ARCH Emerging Markets Partners.

Sun Exchange is a marketplace that allows people to purchase remotely-located solar cells that power schools, businesses, and other organizations.

The startup will use the investment to scale its solution and expand into new markets across Africa as well as enhance its software.

Director of ARCH, William Barry said, “Sun Exchange is positioned to emerge as an enabling force in the imminent global energy and economic transformation, with a first-of-a-kind platform that harnesses the power of a united global community to unlock the potential of distributed solar power in emerging markets.”

“ARCH is thrilled to partner with Sun Exchange on this journey to expand the success the company has already seen in South Africa throughout ARPF’s target markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Speaking on the investment, founder and CEO of Sun Exchange,  Abe Cambridge said, “This milestone unlocks the next phase of growth for Sun Exchange, which includes building our team, creating several new, sustainable, clean energy jobs, and providing our growing user base the opportunity to further diversify their solar cell portfolios across new regions and industries. With our shared passion for driving renewable energy proliferation and sustainability across Africa, ARCH is the perfect partner for Sun Exchange as we scale.”

Since the inception of the startup, it has built a community of over 17,000 members across approximately 160 countries and brought solar power to many South African schools, businesses, and organizations.

Sun Exchange was founded in the year 2015 by Abe Cambridge.