Lendahand Ethex looks to UK crowdfunding for African solar projects
LENDAHAND Ethex, the positive impact investing platform, is set to bring more African solar projects to the UK crowdfunding market.
Lendahand has teamed up with utility company BBBOX for the new Energise Africa partnership.
The initiative aims to raise £2.5m in total through a series of smaller investment offers, allowing BBOXX to extend its roll-out of solar systems across Rwanda, Togo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.
The partnership’s initial offer will seek to raise £250,000 from UK-based investors to fund solar systems for 2,500 rural Rwandan households. UK aid will match 25 per cent of the campaign value to boost the impact of UK social impact investors.
The bond aims to generate a potential annual return of five per cent over a 36-month period and returns can also be held tax free within Lendahand’s Innovative Finance ISA.
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“At BBOXX we are dedicated to exploring innovative ways to finance the scaling of our business – enabling us to provide even more people with affordable, clean energy,” said Mansoor Hamayun, chief executive of BBOXX.
“Working with Lendahand Ethex as crowdfunding via their Energise Africa campaign represents an exciting mechanism to help us access critical finance to achieve our objectives.
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“This raise is part of the first credit facility of many, which is likely to result in up to £10m of retail investment over the next few years, providing an estimated 100,000 households in Africa with access to clean and affordable energy.”
Energise Africa was launched last year with financial support from UK aid and Virgin Unite with the objective of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.
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