Sun King secures $5m to expand solar financing in Zambia

Sun King has secured $5 million from Acumen to expand its solar business in Zambia, with the investment also aimed at helping the company raise more money from local lenders. The funding comes from Acumen's Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) Catalyze initiative and has been invested directly into Sun King's Zambian subsidiary.

It is the first equity investment Acumen has made in one of Sun King's country level businesses. Sun King plans to use the money to expand its operations across Zambia, where about half of the population has access to electricity and rural access is considerably lower. The company expects the investment to help provide electricity access to nearly 5.6 million people over the next five years, including up to 4.5 million people who could gain access for the first time.

The funding model matters

Sun King is not simply selling solar equipment to customers who can afford to pay for it upfront. Its pay as you go model allows customers to take solar systems on credit and repay the cost over 12 to 24 months. Payments can be made daily, weekly or monthly through mobile money, with some plans starting at about $0.26 a day.

The products range from basic solar kits for lighting and phone charging to larger inverter systems that can supply power to homes, businesses, schools and health centres. That makes financing an important part of Sun King's business. The company has to fund the equipment before customers have finished paying for it.

Acumen wants local lenders involved

This is where the new investment goes beyond the initial $5 million. Acumen said the equity injection is designed to help Sun King attract local-currency debt from financial institutions in Zambia. The idea is to use the equity as a base for bringing in additional financing. For Sun King, that could provide more money to finance solar systems as it expands without relying entirely on international investors.

Acumen's Sandra Halilovic said the investment was structured to help bring local lenders into the financing of the company's expansion. This is particularly relevant for a pay-as-you-go business because the company needs capital to keep supplying systems while customers repay them over time.

Zambia has a large off-grid market

Zambia's electricity access remains low, particularly outside urban areas. Acumen says only around half of the country's population has access to electricity, while rural access is much lower. The country's power system has also been hit by droughts that have reduced hydropower generation. Hydropower provides most of Zambia's electricity.

That has left households and businesses looking for alternatives to the national grid. Sun King has been operating in Zambia since 2021 and is now looking to expand its reach across the country.

Solar becomes a financed product

The Sun King model shows how solar companies are increasingly using consumer finance to sell energy equipment. Instead of asking a household to find the full cost of a solar system upfront, the company spreads the payment over a longer period. Mobile money makes it possible for customers to make smaller regular payments without needing a traditional bank loan.

For customers with limited incomes, that can make a solar system easier to afford. For Sun King, however, it means the company needs enough working capital to finance equipment while repayments come in over months or years. That is why access to debt matters to the business.

Acumen's bigger clean-energy fund

The investment is part of Acumen's $250 million Hardest-to-Reach initiative, which targets clean-energy businesses operating in 17 underserved African markets. The programme invests in off grid solar companies and uses different types of financing to help them expand. In Sun King's case, Acumen is combining equity investment with an effort to bring local lenders into the business.

For Sun King, the immediate task is to expand its Zambian operation and put more solar systems into homes and businesses that have limited or no access to reliable grid electricity. The $5 million is therefore only part of the financing strategy. The larger aim is to use that investment to support a wider pool of capital for the company's expansion.