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The Sun Exchange a South African solar energy-focused blockchain startup, has announced that it has raised $4 million USD in its Series-A funding round.
@TheSunExchange has secured an investment from ARCH Africa Renewable Power Fund, marking the close of our $4 million Series-A funding round! We can now accelerate our mission to ‘connect the world to the sun’ across Africa. https://t.co/dfb02VeBY9
— The Sun Exchange (@TheSunExchange) June 9, 2020
With $3 million USD in funding coming in from Arch Emerging Markets Partners, The Sun Exchange announced the news with excitement for the new partnership:
“With our shared passion for driving renewable energy proliferation and sustainability across Africa, ARCH is the perfect partner for Sun Exchange as we scale our solution, and we are delighted to have them on board.”
With a focus on renewable energy, the startup offers the sale of solar energy cells to clients through the national currency (South African Rand) or Bitcoin The Sun Exchange sells, or leases, the energy cells for different “solar projects” and clients earn in Bitcoin or in Rand from the energy generated.
The new investment will mean that the startup will be able to further marketing activities in order to grow its membership base. It also means that it will invest in improved software which will help extend what the platform can offer.
The Perfect Power Partnership
Arch, an emerging markets investment advisory firm, has a focus on both sustainability and renewable energy, making it a good fit for The Sun Exchange. William Barry, managing director of Arch, commented:
“Sun Exchange is positioned to emerge as an enabling force in the imminent global energy and economic transformation, with a first-of-a-kind platform that harnesses the power of a united global community to unlock the potential of distributed solar power in emerging markets. We are thrilled to partner with Sun Exchange on this journey to expand the success the company has already seen in South Africa throughout ARPF’s target markets in sub-Saharan Africa.”