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Sun King

Global leader in off-grid energy solutions

Industry:

Financial Services, Climate Solutions

Region:

Africa, Emerging Asia

Website:

sunking.com

$ 950 0 M +

Solar loans provided

140 0 MW

Solar capacity installed

$ 7.2 0 B +

Energy expenditure savings

Sun King is the global leader in the growing “pay-as-you-go” (PAYG) off-grid solar energy industry. The company designs, distributes, finances and installs solar technology to help the more than 1.5 billion off-grid and underelectrified consumers in Africa and Asia.

The Challenge

The Challenge

Globally, 773 million people still have no access to grid electricity, and a further 800 million have unreliable access.1 By 2030, 660 million people are expected to still be without electricity.2

This issue is most acute in Sub-Saharan Africa where 568 million people remain off-grid, and the rate of electrification is outpaced by population growth.3 In Asia, while the rate of electrification is higher, reliability remains a major issue with most customers receiving less than 12 hours of supply per day, experiencing frequent outages, and suffering voltage surges which can damage appliances.

The World Bank estimates that in 2022, nearly 90 million people in Asia and Africa who previously gained access to electricity, can no longer afford to pay for it.4 This compounds an already slowing pace of electrification over the past 10 years, likely explained by the increasing complexity of reaching more remote and poorer underserved populations.5

Households without access to electricity are forced to find alternative energy supplies and spend more than $27 billion annually on off-grid energy for light and to mobile charging products alone, with predominantly unhealthy and polluting kerosene lamps.6 These lamps strain the eyes, are regularly linked to injury and death from burns or related diseases such as pneumonia, and emit 1,000 kg of carbon over five years of use.7

Solar home systems are a vital asset to increase accessibility. The number of people with access to electricity through a solar home system in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by about 25 million since 2019, topping 45 million in 2022. This means these systems now provide electricity access to 4% of African households.8

1 World Bank, Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, June 2022 | 2 IEA, SDG&: Data and Projections, September 2023 |3 World Bank, Mini Grids for Half a Billion People, February 2023| 4 Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, June 2022| 5 Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, June 2022 | 6 Sun King analysis, 2022 | 7 Sun King analysis, 2022 | 8 IEA, World Energy Outlook 2023, September 2023

Annual global off-grid household energy spend on lighting and mobile charging Annual global off-grid household energy spend on lighting and mobile charging
Source: WHO, GOGLA Off-grid Market Trends Report
Annual global off-grid household energy spend on lighting and mobile charging Annual global off-grid household energy spend on lighting and mobile charging
Source: WHO, GOGLA Off-grid Market Trends Report

Sun King's Solution

Sun King's Solution

Sun King designs, distributes, finances and installs solar home systems that offer a low-emission, affordable route out of energy poverty for millions of people.

The company is the leading off-grid solar player with the largest share of the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) market globally. To date, Sun King has provided light and power to 118 million people who lacked access to reliable electricity and has helped households to save more than $7.2 billion on energy expenditure since inception.

Sun King’s PAYG financing model makes solar affordable to virtually all off-grid and weak-grid homes, allowing customers to leapfrog electrical grids and fossil-fuel energy sources entirely. Solar solutions range from handheld solar-powered lamps to plug-and-play solar home systems to robust, grid-par solar inverters for homes and businesses that rely on gas generators during power outages.

Between 65-90% of Sun King’s customers live below their respective national poverty line, so making upfront payments for a solar-powered energy system is a challenge. To combat this, Sun King offers a PAYG consumer financing service: typically, unbanked customers can pay a nominal deposit and complete payment through a series of small, manageable daily, weekly, or monthly instalments. This innovative financial service has already extended over $950 million in solar loans, and allows Sun King to connect more than 250,000 new low- and middle-income households each month. Once repaid, the systems are free to run, lowering the household cost of energy significantly.

Benefits of their products are diverse – 75% of customers report an increase in children’s reading and study time, 15% a rise in household savings, 94% of families say they feel safer, and 84% experience better air quality.

A compelling customer proposition versus dirty fuel alternatives A compelling customer proposition versus dirty fuel alternatives
Source: GOGLA, IRENA
A compelling customer proposition versus dirty fuel alternatives A compelling customer proposition versus dirty fuel alternatives
Source: GOGLA, IRENA

LeapFrog’s Impact

LeapFrog’s Impact

LeapFrog invested in Sun King’s extended Series D round in 2022, alongside General Atlantic and M&G, to expand the company’s footprint and impact across Africa and Asia.

LeapFrog is supporting Sun King’s expansion into existing and adjacent markets by helping to optimise existing products, and by exploring new financial services offerings. Sun King data suggests over 90% of existing customers are interested to use similar PAYG models to access products like smartphones, cookstoves, and water tanks, as well as to build credit histories to access agricultural and home improvement loans.

The company has launched a smartphone financing offering, allowing clients to pay off phones in a similar way to their solar kit, as well as a solar inverter option for higher power requirements. This signals an expansion into providing services for public institutions and middle-class consumers seeking reliable, clean energy alternatives. LeapFrog’s extensive experience in financial services can help support further expansion into new products, leveraging our networks and expertise in credit underwriting and insurance distribution.

LeapFrog’s CX Launchpad is working with the company to identify opportunities to improve digital experiences for all of Sun King’s stakeholders, including onboarding for new customers with low or no financial literacy. Optimising Sun King’s Kazi app, used to train and track its distributed agent network, is also a focus to assist in customer management and to help incentivise and retain high-performing agents. The app is key touchpoint for agents to connect with existing and prospective customers, including functionalities which allow agents to track late payments, manage daily tasks and call customers for free.

LeapFrog’s Talent Accelerator is also working with Sun King’s leadership team to identify opportunities to support across capability development of the senior leadership team, organisational design, HR function maturity, and employee value proposition. The Impact team is also working with the company to continue to enhance its governance and reporting functions.

Page last updated September 2024.

Sun King's distribution and credit platform has potential to extend products and services to a wider set of customer needs Sun King's distribution and credit platform has potential to extend products and services to a wider set of customer needs
Source: Company Data, 2022.
Sun King's distribution and credit platform has potential to extend products and services to a wider set of customer needs Sun King's distribution and credit platform has potential to extend products and services to a wider set of customer needs
Source: Company Data, 2022.

Learn more

LeapFrog is partnering with Sun King to expand its reach across Africa and Asia. Read more about the company below.

AVCA

Climate Financing in Africa - Strategies for the Future

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Tech Crunch

Sun King expands Series D to $330M

AVCA

Climate Financing in Africa - Strategies for the Future

Tech Crunch

Sun King expands Series D to $330M