Yellow Secures $5m from Oikocredit to Expand Clean Energy Financing in Africa
Yellow, a provider of pay-as-you-go off-grid solar solutions and appliances, has secured a $5 million loan from African social impact investor Oikocredit to assist an additional 89 000 underprivileged households in sub-Saharan Africa. Michael Heyink, a tech entrepreneur, launched Yellow, which has already served more than 350 000 clients across four nations.
Yellow will be able to provide low-income individuals in Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia with access to clean energy as well as a route to ownership of off-grid solar goods that can be expanded to meet users’ expanding energy needs thanks to Oikocredit’s funding.
According to Heyink, having access to renewable energy will help households raise their level of life, expand their earning capacity, and lead more honorable lives.
Providing catalytic finance to open up private use of clean energy will help Africa become more energy efficient. Building a more robust pipeline of projects and enhancing the risk-return profile of individual investments are two benefits of using Yellow’s assistance and concessional finance tools to remove market obstacles. The general objective of helping all Africans have access to inexpensive, dependable, sustainable, and modern energy services is consistent with Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The International Renewable Energy Agency stated in a research from last year that Africa has enormous potential for wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal energy resources, and that the cost of renewables is steadily declining. According to this, Central and Southern Africa have a wealth of mineral resources that are crucial to production of electric batteries, wind turbines, and other low-carbon technologies.
Yellow has led the way and offered low-income areas solar energy solutions ever since its founding in 2018. More than 1.5 million individuals now have better lifestyles thanks to the sale of more than 300,000 energy-related products. Additionally, by hiring them as agents, Yellow has been able to give more than 1 200 people genuine employment opportunities.
By displacing diesel generators and kerosene lanterns, Yellow’s solar household systems have so far prevented about 442671 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Heyink expressed satisfaction with working with Oikocredit noting that the facility was game-changing and will individuals obtain local currency financing across several countries. He added that it will give the startup more flexibility to service more clients effectively.
Siebren Wilschut, investment officer at Oikocredit, adds: “We’re very pleased to support Yellow, one of the fastest growing companies in the industry, in its expansion to provide greater access to energy across Africa. With this investment, we continue our commitment to achieving higher social impact in sub-Saharan Africa through investments in renewable energy. Our partnership with Yellow will enable the company to increase its social impact by helping low-income people become healthier, improve their livelihoods and be better connected.”