Sun King, a provider of solar energy products in Africa and Asia, expands Series D to $330M

LeapFrog Investments has invested $70 million in Sun King, a provider of solar energy products in Africa and Asia. The Series D round was led by BeyondNetZero, a climate investing venture of General Atlantic and M&G Investments. Sun King has raised over 500 million dollars in debt and equity since it was founded.

African households and communities can't access affordable and reliable solar technology, which limits their ability to generate electricity and reduce their reliance on grid-based power. Pay-as-you-go solar distribution networks allow households and individuals to get electricity on the cheap.

Sun King claims to be the world's largest. According to the company, it has delivered solar energy to 165,000 homes per month across eight African countries, and in Kenya, where it has operated for over a decade, over one in five people use its product for light and power. Sun King's products have provided light and power to 95 million people in Africa and Asia since it was founded in 2007, according to a statement.

LeapFrog is investing in Sun King to increase access to energy with solar power. LeapFrog has a lot of experience meeting the needs of customers in the countries where we are working to make solar energy solutions easy to access.

Sun King raises $260M to widen clean energy access in Africa, Asia

Since the initial Series D investment nine months ago, Sun King's business has grown by 95 percent. In April, we said that a large portion of the initial investment would be used to expand its PAYG solutions and introduce larger setups that could power appliances. $38 million of additional primary investment will be taken advantage of by this extension. The company said in a statement that it will use the additional secondary investment to exit all of Sun King's previous institutional investors completely.

Voting control will continue to be held by Sun King's founding fathers. Sun King's board now includes General Atlantic and M&G Investments, as well as the company's first investor, as part of the deal.

Sun King is providing safe and reliable electricity to emerging consumers in Africa and Asia. The company's off- grid solar systems will be vital in filling the growing electricity accessibility gap and ensuring these emerging countries avoid the carbon dioxide emissions and detrimental health impacts that result from energy sources like diesel generators, wood burners and kerosene.

Sun King ensures that consumers don't bear the upfront cost of a clean energy transition, allowing them to leapfrog directly to less carbon intensive consumption. We are happy to be partnering with Sun King.