SunCulture, a Kenyan climate tech startup, has secured $12 million to expand its solar irrigation solution in Sub-Saharan Africa and reach hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers with Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled solar-powered irrigation by 2030.
The historic collaboration between InfraCo Africa, a division of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and Savant Group Ltd. provided the strategic equity investment.
Participating through his foundation are Eric Schmidt, the former CEO and chairman of Google, Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix, and Acumen Funds.
The new funding round, which is part of the $27.5 million Series B fundraising campaign for the climate business, is made possible by InfraCo Africa’s specialized investment arm.
“We are excited to collaborate with our investors as we work towards our shared goals,” stated SunCulture CEO Samir Ibrahim.
SunCulture is committed to assisting farmers in raising their level of output. Many farmers in most of sub-Saharan Africa rely on rainfed agriculture or carbon-emitting diesel and petrol pumps for their irrigation needs.
SunCulture provides farmers with a sustainable alternative to reduce their need for costly, ecologically harmful fuel-based pumps and avoid heavy dependency on seasonal rains.
Small solar-powered water pumps, which can reduce the overall cost of ownership by up to half when compared to fuel-based pumps, are provided by the solar company to small-scale farmers through the sale of carbon credits.
The pumps are intended for smallholdings with an area of one to three acres, and they have an output of 1,200 liters per hour.
SunCulture has a “Pay-As-You-Grow” business model and has operations in Kenya, Uganda, and the Ivory Coast. It also has distribution agreements in Ethiopia, Zambia, and Togo.
SunCultire has sold 47,000 solar-powered irrigation systems to date. Additionally, SunCulture wants to increase the range of services it provides to farmers by adding insurance and soil testing.
The climate tech business has raised a total of $65 million since its founding through the Series B round, which is a combination of grants, debt, stock, and carbon financing.
Additionally, it moves closer to its target of raising $219 million for the installation of 274,000 solar irrigation systems across Kenya.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
BasiGo, an electric bus startup in Kenya, has raised $3 million in a funding round
Roam, a Kenyan startup focused on electric mobility, has raised $24 million to expand across Africa
Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan agri-fintech startup, has raised $10 million in funding
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