Sun King

World’s largest off-grid solar financier

Industry:

Financial Services, Climate Solutions

Region:

Africa, Emerging Asia

Website:

sunking.com

106 0 M +

People reached

500,000 0 +

MWh solar energy generated

28 0 M +

Metric tonnes Co2 avoided

Sun King is the largest off-grid solar provider in the world. The company designs, distributes, finances and installs rooftop solar systems, helping the more than 1.8 billion off-grid and under-electrified consumers in Africa and Asia to gain access to clean energy. Since inception, Sun King has provided 106 million people with improved energy access.

The Challenge

Globally, 733 million people still have no access to electricity, and a further 1.1 billion have unreliable access¹. By 2030, 670 million people are expected to still be without electricity².

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. 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 it³. 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 populations⁴.

Households without access to electricity are forced to find alternative energy supplies and spend more than $27B annually on off-grid energy for light and to charge phones,mostly on inefficient and unhealthy kerosene lamps⁵. 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 use⁶.

1 Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, June 2022 2 Ibid 3 Ibid 4 Ibid 5 Sun King analysis, 2022 6 Ibid

Annual global off-grid household energy spend

Sun King's Solution

Sun King designs, distributes, finances and installs solar home systems (“SHS”) to the 1.8 billion off-grid and under-electrified consumers in Africa and Asia.

The company is the leading off-grid solar player with the largest share of the PAYG market globally. To date, it has provided light and power to 106 million people who lacked access to reliable electricity and has avoided more than 28 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The company estimates it has helped households to save more than $5.9B cumulatively 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. Households recieve high-quality equipment, which they can then pay off as they use the asset. Products on offer range from basic lighting kits to higher capacity solar panels which can power TVs and other appliances. The standard repayment term is between 9 and 18 months, enabling low-income consumers to purchase higher value solar home systems and pay on a daily or weekly basis. Repayment rates are over 90%. Once repaid, the system is free to run, lowering the household cost of energy significantly.

In just the past five years, the company has grown its presence in eight countries, with more than 200 branches and 20,000 field agents and a deep presence in underserved geographies. Along with customer acquisition, agents also install equipment, monitor repayments and assist with maintenance. In its initial market of Kenya, 20% of households are powered by one of Sun King’s home energy solutions, compared ot the 4% of households in the USA with rooftop solar panels. Sun King also has an opportunity to expand its PAYG model into other essential services, including clean cooking and insurance.

A compelling customer proposition versus dirty fuel alternatives

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 also 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 access agricultural and home improvement loans.

Already, the company has launched a smartphone financing offering, allowing clients to pay off phones in a similar method to their solar kits to enable greater digital inclusion. 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 will also work with the company in continuing to enhance the governance and reporting functions.

LeapFrog’s CX team will help identify opportunities to improve digital experiences for all of Sun King’s stakeholders, including onboarding for new customers with low or no financial literacy. LeapFrog will also explore ways to enhance Sun King’s Kazi app used to train and track its distributed agent network. 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. Optimising this app will assist in customer management and help to incentivise and retain high performing agents.

LeapFrog’s Talent Accelerator also intends to work 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.

Page last updated May 2023.

Sun King's distribution and credit platform has potential to extend products and services to a wider set of customer needs

Sun King

106 0 M +

500,000 0 +

28 0 M +

The Challenge

The Challenge

Globally, 733 million people still have no access to electricity, and a further 1.1 billion have unreliable access1. By 2030, 670 million people are expected to still be without electricity2.

Sun King's Solution

Sun King's Solution

Sun King designs, distributes, finances and installs solar home systems (“SHS”) to the 1.8 billion off-grid and under-electrified consumers in Africa and Asia.

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.

Learn more

The green revolution in global growth markets

A new way for investors to help light up Africa

Climate Financing in Africa - Strategies for the Future

Sun King expands Series D to $330M

LeapFrog partially exits Northern Arc after reaching 100m Indians, delivering over 3x returns to date

New report reveals $1.3tn opportunity for EV revolution in emerging Asia

The green revolution in global growth markets

A new way for investors to help light up Africa

Climate Financing in Africa - Strategies for the Future

Sun King expands Series D to $330M

LeapFrog partially exits Northern Arc after reaching 100m Indians, delivering over 3x returns to date

New report reveals $1.3tn opportunity for EV revolution in emerging Asia

Globally, 733 million people still have no access to electricity, and a further 1.1 billion have unreliable access¹. By 2030, 670 million people are expected to still be without electricity².