Social enterprise tackling energy poverty in DRC aims to raise up to £500,000 from UK retail investors
Altech, a social enterprise founded by former refugees, provides affordable solar energy to underserved people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and new investment could support nearly 14,000 households.
A social enterprise tackling energy poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to raise up to £500,000 in debt from UK retail investors through impact finance platform Energise Africa.
Altech, founded in 2013 by Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao, who are former Congolese refugees, provides affordable home solar systems and solar lanterns to underserved communities in the DRC, where only one in five people has access to electricity.
The social enterprise will receive debt investment in the form of the Altech Bond, issued by Energise Africa, where individual UK investors can invest from as little as £50 with an expected 8% return. With a target size of £500,000, the bond will enable the social enterprise to provide an estimated 13,725 households with affordable clean power.
The DRC, which has been engulfed in conflict for decades, is one of the five poorest countries in the world, according to the World Bank. Malongo said: “I know first hand what it is like to live without light and power. These experiences are the source of my motivation to help improve daily life in Congo.”
Altech founders Washikala Malango (left) and Iongwa Mashangao are former Congolese refugees who have had experience of living without power
Instead of having to cover the cost of the equipment, including solar panels, solar lamps and connected devices, Altech customers can pay in several installments at an affordable rate, after which they own the appliances and benefit from the electricity they produce for free. Energise Africa says solar home systems are the “ideal solution” for off-grid communities in a country facing political instability and a lack of energy infrastructure.
Altech has so far reached 2.5m people in the DRC, and saved an estimated 480,000 tonnes of CO2, according to Energise Africa.
Ray Coyle, CEO of Energise Africa, said: “By supporting Altech, we can empower communities, foster sustainable development, and bring light to those living in the dark.”
Energise Africa points to the social enterprise’s track record – it previously successfully repaid £2.5m in debt raised on the platform – and deep knowledge of the DRC as reasons why it issued the bond.
The Africa-focused platform enables retail investors to directly invest into solar energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, raising more than £30m to date which it says has benefitted more than 850,000 people. It was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between two European impact investing platforms: Ethex in the UK and Netherlands-based Lendahand.
Top image: businesses can operate later in the day thanks to Altech solar lamps which provide bright lighting for hours after dark. Courtesy of Energise Africa / Altech. (The photograph has been expanded with editing software to fit within the website image format).
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