candi solar
BIO has granted a USD 7 M loan to candi solar, a company installing, owning and operating solar production plants and selling electricity to clients in India and South Africa.
Amount
€ 6,180,468.00
Type of investment
Debt
Development impacts
- Local economic growth
- Access to basic services & goods
- Fight against climate change and preservation of natural resources
Beneficiary locations
Investment field
Infrastructure
Activity
candi’s core strategy is to serve SMEs that need reliable and affordable energy but prefer to focus their resources on their core business and outsource the financing and management of a solar plant.
Solar plants are generally installed on rooftop and range from 20KWp to average sizes 3-4MWp with an average of 350KWp. To unlock this market overlooked by most players, candi ambitions to reach high volumes, compress transaction costs, leverage its fundraising expertise and rely on state-of-the-art proprietary credit analysis and monitoring tools to minimise risks.
Beginning of 2022, candi has 32 MW in operation.
In addition to BIOs investment, responsAbility cofinanced USD 7 M.
Development impacts
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Local economic growth
Improved infrastructure: Candi Solar’s customers are SMEs which are grid connected but would like to benefit from reliable, clean, and affordable (lower than grid price) energy covering part of their electricity consumption - around 20-30% on average, and a system in which they fully own the solar installation at the end of the contract. Indian and South African grid, although more reliable than many other Asian or African grids, sometimes suffer from stability issues.
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Access to basic services & goods
While the clients are all connected to the grid, candi's solution can improve reliability and diversify part of the clients' energy supply. candi also offers the possibility for client to pay a fixed electricity price, avoiding the uncertainty of grid price evolution.
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Fight against climate change and preservation of natural resources
16,039 CO2eq emissions avoided by 12MW of solar
E&S Impact
At the time of BIO’s first investment in candi, a comprehensive Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) was agreed upon, and its implementation has been progressing satisfactorily. It targeted, among others,
- the improvement of processes and tools (both internal and for EPC contractors);
- a strengthening of contractors working conditions requirements; and
- a mapping of candi Solar’s supply chain.
Current situation
Candi has an ESG Policy that identifies the main ESG risks, supported by a full set of Environmental, Health and Safety procedures. Moreover, the company set up an ESG committee and allocated ESG responsibilities. Indirect risks related to land acquisition, biodiversity and reputational risks are managed via candi’s “Approach to Client ESG risks” including due diligence checks for high-risk sectors and exclusion lists.Risk Category: B
Read impact and news about this project
News
Investment in candi solar
22-02-2022
responsAbility Investments, the Swiss impact investment manager, and BIO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, have provided a USD 10 million equivalent multi-currency loan to candi solar, a visionary financial and clean energy platform through which distributed energy infrastructure in emerging markets can be built at scale.
View more of our investments in this region
Infrastructure
SIMA Commercial & Industrial Solar Green Bond
10,000,000.00
Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
29/12/2023
Debt
