Candi Locks in Leading Seed Investors for SME Solar Model

Persistent and Gaia Impact Fund, two leading impact funds in energy access in emerging markets, have joined forces to provide early capital to candi’s innovative rooftop solar business focused on commercial and industrial (“C&I”) customers in Asia and Africa. Leveraging the expertise and support of both firms, candi is now on track to deliver 3MW of rooftop solar to SMEs in India within its first 12 months of operation.

Gaia and Persistent, both no strangers to investing in early stage solar companies in markets across Africa and Asia, have engaged with candi early on in the life cycle to facilitate rapid acceleration through the proof of concept phase.

CEO of candi, Philippe Flamand says “Without support from partners like this, getting candi’s concept to market quickly would be impossible. We value highly the trust they have put in our team and the confidence they give us in tackling solar for SMEs through our unique approach to C&I. We thoroughly look forward to building on the success of this seed round with a Series A in early 2019 to scale the business in India and Africa.”

Persistent Partner Rodrigo Weiss stated that “In less than 12 months candi has created great traction within India and laid the groundwork for the expansion into Africa. We are very impressed with how well their services are resonating with SME customers. With their innovative business model and a strong, experienced team, we are confident that candi will grow quickly and successfully.”

“The company’s structured processes leveraged by a clear-minded and dedicated management team makes for a compelling value proposition to its customers. On top of candi’s strong commercial potential, we believe in the company’s innovative approach to customer financing, especially as it aligns well with Gaia’s philosophy that is bringing cost-efficient, clean & renewable energy to households and SMEs challenged by difficult access to affordable energy across the globe,”  says Guilhem Dupuy, Investment Manager of Gaia Impact Fund.