Sun King Gets $156M Securitization for Off-Grid Solar in Kenya

BREAKING NEWSJuly 31, 2025 at 12:54 PM UTC

TLDR

Kenyan off-grid solar provider Sun King has raised $156 million in a local currency securitisation deal to expand access to solar energy across the country
The financing will enable 1.4 million low-income households and businesses to access solar electricity through pay-as-you-go models
This is Sun King’s second Kenyan shilling-denominated securitisation, following a $130 million deal completed in 2023

Kenyan off-grid solar provider Sun King has raised $156 million in a local currency securitisation deal to expand access to solar energy across the country. The financing will enable 1.4 million low-income households and businesses to access solar electricity through pay-as-you-go models.

Founded in 2007, Sun King offers affordable solar products via daily mobile money payments starting from $0.19 (KES 25). The company has provided $1.3 billion in solar loans to nearly 10 million customers across Africa.

The deal is the largest securitisation completed in Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa. Citi structured the transaction, with Stanbic Bank Kenya Ltd serving as placement agent. It involves backing from five commercial banks and three development finance institutions.

This is Sun King’s second Kenyan shilling-denominated securitisation, following a $130 million deal completed in 2023. The structure allows the firm to convert customer repayments into long-term investable assets.

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Key Takeaways

Sun King’s $156 million deal marks a major milestone for green finance in Africa, demonstrating investor appetite for local currency securitisation structures in energy access. By linking long-term customer repayments with institutional capital, Sun King can scale solar distribution without depending on hard currency debt. The structure reduces foreign exchange risk while building confidence among African commercial banks in the off-grid solar sector. It also aligns capital deployment with local development goals by financing clean energy access in underserved communities. As energy poverty remains a major challenge—affecting over 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa—models like Sun King’s offer a scalable path forward. The securitisation also signals a shift in how green infrastructure projects are financed on the continent, opening new pathways for mobilising local institutional capital at scale.

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