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SolarHome, a Singapore-headquartered solar energy startup that serves off-grid households in Myanmar, has secured a $1-million equity investment from existing investor Trirec, a Singapore-based investment holding company that targets renewable energy and clean technology investments. The follow-on financing by Trirec forms the first tranche of SolarHome’s Series A fundraise that it intends to close within the next quarter.
In early 2018, SolarHome raised $4.2 million via convertible notes from Trirec, Insitor Impact Asia, Beenext and a group of Singapore-based family offices. In December last year, SolarHome raised an additional $10 million debt financing from a consortium of investors including Japan-based cross border crowdfunding platform Trine.
The company was seeded by fintech venture builder FORUM. Launched in 2017, SolarHome has been expanding its operations in Myanmar and so far, the company claims it has installed over 30,000 solar home systems in the country. The company aims to reach up to 100,000 home installations by the end of 2019.
The company has also been installing pay-as-you-go (PAYG) soalr for off-grid homes in Southeast Asia. SolarHome also announced the appointment of Greg Krasnov, the chairman and founder of SolarHome, and CEO of FORUM as the company’s CEO. Previously, Ted Martynov led the company as the CEO. Martynov will continue to support SolarHome as a senior adviser. At the same time, Geert-Jan ten Hoonte, a senior adviser, board member and angel investor in SolarHome has been appointed as president and COO of the company.
Hoonte was most recently the CEO of major Asian consumer lenders, Home Credit Vietnam and EasyCredit Vietnam. “They (Krasnov and Hoonte) have been deeply involved in the business from the start, bringing a depth of strategic vision and understanding of SolarHome and the complexities of delivering energy and financial access in a country with significant infrastructural challenges,” said Martynov.