D.light, an US-headquartered solar lighting product supplier backed by conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, secured $41m yesterday in a funding round led by investment adviser Inspired Evolution.
Swedish state-backed development bank Swedfund, Norwegian government-owned private equity fund Norfund and Netherlands-based development bank FMO also took part in the round, which enabled undisclosed early investors to exit the company.
Founded in 2007, D.light produces solar-powered lighting and power products it distributes to customers in developing nations through regional hubs in East and West Africa, India, Southeast Asia and the US.
The funding will go to expanding the company’s consumer finance-based business in Africa, as it works toward a goal of impacting 100 million people by 2020.
The round comes in the wake of $50m of debt financing in April 2018, half of which came from European Investment Bank and the rest from backers including SunFunder ResponsAbility Investments and Social Investment Managers & Advisers.
D.light received $5m from Norfund in January 2017 alongside $5.5m in grant funding from Shell Foundation and Beyond the Grid, bringing its overall financing to $72.5m.
KawiSafi Ventures Fund, Energy Access Ventures, Omidyar Network and NewQuest Capital Partners had provided $15m of equity funding for the company four months earlier, D.light raised $5m in grant funding and $2.5m in debt at the same time.
Mahindra & Mahindra invested in D.light as part of a $6m series A round in 2008 that was led by Nexus India Capital and backed by Garage Technology Ventures, DFJ, Gray Matters Capital and Acumen Fund.
Image courtesy of D.light Design.
