Sun Exchange, a global solar micro-leasing marketplace, has kickstarted a R7 million ($460,000) Uprise.Africa equity crowdfunding campaign, for about 5.2% equity stake in the company.
Following a two-week private sale period, the Uprise.Africa campaign is now open to the public.
Sun Exchange is renowned as a technology and renewable energy leader across Africa. Since launching in 2015, the company has built a community of more than 8,000 Sun Exchange members across approximately 140 countries and brought solar power to 13 South African schools, businesses and organisations, offsetting 1,500 tonnes of carbon per year, and growing.
It has received extensive accolades for its unique approach to solar finance, including being named one of Fast Company Magazine’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Africa, and is listed among Africa’s “Energy Elites” by ESI Africa for the last two years running.
Sun Exchange has grown into a globally significant brand, bringing in investors such as Boost VC, Alphabit, Techstars, as well as numerous individual U.S. and E.U. investors. Funds raised through the Uprise.Africa campaign will accelerate the company towards its next stage of growth, including:
- Elevating marketing efforts to grow the Sun Exchange user base by 10X over the next two years.
- Scaling to new markets in Africa in the short term, and Eastern Europe, South America and Central Asia in the medium to long term.
- Building out its technology team to further develop the already robust, award-winning Sun Exchange platform into an interactive and gamified solar cell ownership dashboard with rewards and referral programmes.
- Establishing a larger, permanent office in Cape Town, along with taking on new staff to grow the sales, business development and marketing teams.
The Sun Exchange Uprise.Africa equity crowdfunding campaign is part of a US $3 million (R45 million) seed funding round, of which Sun Exchange has raised $800,000 (R12 million) to date from global investors, including $500,000 (R7.6 million) from the multi-million dollar hedge fund, Alphabit Fund, announced in October 2019.
The Uprise.Africa crowdfunding campaign is open to anyone over the age of 18, anywhere in the world, who is interested in supporting and benefiting from the Sun Exchange mission of connecting the world to the sun. The minimum investment is R3,000 ($198). Individuals who are interested in participating in the campaign and investing in Sun Exchange can do so by creating an Uprise.Africa account and visiting the Sun Exchange campaign web page on the Uprise.Africa website.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Uprise.Africa to create an opportunity for anyone to invest in Sun Exchange, own part of one of the most disruptive companies across the African continent, and benefit from our continued growth and success,” said Abraham Cambridge, CEO and Founder, Sun Exchange.
“Decentralisation, democratisation, and profits with purpose are core values for Sun Exchange. We believe in the power of the crowd and people’s ability to unite to create lasting positive social and environmental impacts, while also earning solid financial returns. This equity crowdfunding campaign epitomises those values.”
