Singapore solar startup SolarHome gets US$1.2m from investors including Koh Boon Hwee

SOLARHOME - a Singapore-based startup that provides pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar services to off-grid households in South-east Asia - has snagged US$1.2 million in new growth capital.

The funding was raised via an issue of convertible notes to a consortium of investors, SolarHome said on Thursday.

Investors in this latest funding round include Koh Boon Hwee (a prominent Singaporean angel investor and former chairman of Singtel, DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines), Beenext (a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm and existing investor in SolarHome) and X Capital Ventures (an investment group focused on seed to Series B ventures).

SolarHome said that it will use the new capital to expand its PAYG solar product line and distribution networks in Myanmar, and develop a strong underwriting function to supplement a growing balance sheet.

SolarHome operates out of seven hubs in Myanmar, employing over 150 field sales representatives and installers. The company has installed systems in over 4,000 households in the Ayeyarwady Delta region in rural Myanmar since its official launch in January 2017 and has been reportedly doubling its monthly installation rate in the last six months.

Ted Martynov, chief executive officer and co-founder of SolarHome, said: "We have a large target market of eight million households in Myanmar alone, and we are confident this round of capital will enable us to stay on course to bring affordable renewable energy to over 40,000 households by end-2018."