Solar minigrid company raises over $100 million to support growth in Asia and Africa

Husk Power Systems has closed $43 million in the Series D funding round, making it the largest-ever equity raise in the mini-grid industry. In addition, the company has leveraged the Series D equity to secure an additional $60 million in debt.

The company raised $43 million from investors like STOA Infra & Energy, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Proparco, Shell Ventures, Swedfund, and FMO. Meanwhile, several finance institutions that participated in debt financing include the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Husk Power Systems will use the capital raised in the latest round to connect communities in rural Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to the grid with an AI-enabled platform of renewable energy services. The company will also utilise two-thirds of the capital to achieve its target of reaching 2,500 mini-grids in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The new capital will fund 1,400 new minigrids, nearly 3,00,000 new connections (a third of them MSMEs) and create 2,500 new direct jobs. The company became EBITDA-positive in the last quarter of 2022.

Manoj Sinha, Husk Co-Founder and CEO, "We have successfully created and scaled a rural energy platform that is life-changing for our communities from day one."

He added, "We are excited to put this new equity and debt to work to supercharge Husk’s growth and unlock the full economic and social potential for a generation of rural Africans and Asians, especially women and youth, that would otherwise be left behind."