Pawame Raises Half A Million USD In Debt Through Crowdfunding Campaign

Off-grid solar energy startup Pawame announced today that it has successfully gained access to USD 543,000 in debt finance through Sweden-based impact-fintech company Trine.  Using crowd investing, Trine helps people to support solar energy projects while also delivering a return on investment.

Pawame, which provides reliable, cost-effective pay-as-you-go solar-powered home systems to remote areas of Africa on a micro-finance basis, remains committed to creating a large impact bearing in mind the fact that 150 million households in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity.

With this latest announcement, Pawame also becomes one of the first energy startups in the Middle East to employ this new powerful way of debt financing.

“We have been fortunate to date to attract supportive, visionary equity investors and now for the first time, we have successfully crowdfunded a significant amount of debt finance through Trine, which bodes well for the future,” said Maurice Parets, CEO of Pawame.

To date, the company has connected over 4,000 homes to solar power in Kenya and impacted more than 20,000 lives. Pawame’s strong proposition and initial success helped secure the debt funding, which will be used to finance equipment and inventory which in turn will enable further growth and accelerate expansion.

Alexandre Allegue, Pawame Chairman and Co-Founder added, “Debt-based crowdfunding has proven to be a great alternative for us as it offers more flexibility, lower interest rates and more options to secure resources when compared to a traditional bank loan. It is a great way to access financial support and resources outside traditional lending form with like-minded investors aligned to our vision”.

Pawame recently announced that it had raised $2 million through a traditional funding round, primarily from GCC investors, the largest shareholder being a group of senior executives from one of the largest power companies of the Middle East. The company is on target to break even by the end of 2018, in just the second full year after its launch, and will soon launch a new funding round with strategic investors to further accelerate its growth.