Description

Sustainable economic growth is key to improving the quality of life in Africa. Kenya is one of the fastest developing countries in East Africa, with a growth of 5,7% in 2019. Small and medium enterprises are at the heart of the country’s economy and growth as they account for about 98% of all businesses and create 80% of new jobs annually.

High electricity costs, as well as poor reliability in power supply from the national grid, are major problems for businesses. Numerous companies are thus opting for power supply from renewable energy sources against the use of diesel generators.

Based in Nairobi (Kenya), the Ariya Group addresses these issues by designing, financing, and implementing customized clean energy systems in Kenya, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, smart integrated batteries, and power stabilization technologies. The group has been operating in the solar industry in the country since 2015 and has installed 25 solar systems so far.

Ariya Finergy Limited is one of the group’s subsidiaries and will use the funds raised to install five photovoltaic solar plants with a total capacity of 1,19 MWp. The end customers are established Kenyan small-medium enterprises in the agricultural, food and logistics sectors.

Kenya Nut Company Limited

Kenya Nut Company Limited is one of the leading nut processors in the world operating in Kenya for 46 years. The company employs more than 2.500 workers in macadamia and cashew nut processing.

Plant 1 

• Location: a factory in Thika, which processes Macadamia nuts.
• Total capacity: 162 kWp
• Clean energy: 238 MWh/year. At its peak, it will cover 100% of the factory’s electricity needs.
• Status: commissioned.

Plant 2 

• Location: floating system mounted on the water reservoir at Lelewshwa Winery in Naivasha.
• Total capacity: 66 kWp
• Clean energy: 96,4 MWh/year.
• Status: commissioned.

Plant 3 

• Total capacity: 170 kWp
• Location: on the roof of the Eco-Park in Thika.
• Clean energy: 240MWh/year. At its peak, it will cover 100% of the factory's electricity needs.
• Status: expected to start construction in Q1 2022.

Repayment of the plants: the solar plants will be purchased by Kenya Nut and paid in fixed monthly instalments over two years.

Mbogo Valley Tea Factory Limited

Mbogo Valley Tea Limited produces high-quality black tea for local and international markets. The company is Rainforest Alliance certified and maintains high standards for health and safety. It directly employs 300 people, 40% of whom are women. 12.500 farmers (out-growers, typically smallholder farmers) supply their tea to the Mbogo Valley Tea factory for processing. 

The PV systems will improve the factory’s overall profitability by reducing overhead costs, while contributing to long-term sustainability and thus their ability to grow, ensuring long-term benefits and job security for their employees and surrounding communities. In addition, it will have a positive environmental impact.

• Total capacity: 403.2 kWp
• Location: roof of the tea factory of the Mbogo Valley Tea Factory Limited (Mbogo Valley Tea) company in Kericho, Kenya.
• Clean energy: 624 MWh/year. During its peak, it will cover 90% of the tea factory's electricity needs.
• Status: commissioned.

Repayment: the plant will be purchased by Mbogo Valley Tea Limited and paid in fixed monthly instalments over five years.

Highland Drinks Limited

Based in Nyeri (a relatively small agricultural town), and founded 60 years ago, Highlands Drinks Limited is a supplier of water, carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks. It employs about 600 people. With very few other employment opportunities in the region, the company is essential to the livelihoods not only of its employees but also of the businesses in the area that supply them with services. The company supports many environmentally conscious projects such as the Rhino Charge, the Lewa Marathon and the 10 to 4 Mountain Bike Challenge.

Plant 

• Total capacity: 385.6 kWp
• Location: roof of the company in Nyeri
• Clean energy: 600 MWh/year. During its peak, it will cover approximately 70% of the company's electricity needs.
• Status: commissioned.

Repayment: AFL has entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Highland Drinks, which is a power supply agreement in which revenue is calculated based on the amount of electricity used by the customer.

About the five systems

All solar panels are both ISO and IEC certified. The inverters (model SUN2000) are sourced from Huawei. All components have guarantees (from 5 to 15 years). For all projects, a roof structural integrity report was prepared by an independent structural engineer to confirm that the proposed roofs have the required strength to support the solar structure.

The Impact

Direct

Contribution to the decarbonization in Kenya, avoiding CO2 emission: producing a total of 1701,8 MWh/year of clean energy, the five solar installations will avoid the emission of 345,5 tons of CO2 every year. That is equivalent to planting 15.705 trees. The Mbogo Valley Tea Factory is responsible, alone, for the reduction of emissions equivalent to planting 5.758 trees.

Indirect

Promotion of the local economy: through reducing the costs with the energy of the three local businesses, this project contributes to sustaining the local economy in Thika, Naivasha, Kericho and Nyeri in Kenya, maintaining factory and farm jobs.

Promotion of more sustainable businesses in Kenya: beyond reducing their carbon footprint through the installation of solar energy systems, this project helps promote responsible and more environmentally conscious business choices in Kenya.

Impact Indicators

108,38 t

CO2 avoided per year

533,9

MWh clean energy

Contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

Financial viability

A total of 1,2 million euros will be required for the overall project (the installation of the five solar energy centrals). The project will be co-financed by three crowdfunding platforms: Bettervest, GREEN ROCKET and GoParity. The loans will thus cover the costs for the development of the projects, for the installation of the solar systems as well as for material and transport.

The loans will be paid back to the investors using the sales proceeds of the solar systems and the sale of clean solar energy, which is regulated by a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Measures are taken to reduce risk: 

Dual company structure: two "special purpose vehicles" (SPVs) were established:

• Ariya Emissions UG (haftungsbeschränkt) (AEU): based in Germany, the company acts as a borrower/issuer, being the promoter of this campaign. AEU receives the funds raised through crowdlending and forwards them as a secured loan to the local project owner - the Kenyan company Ariya Finergy Limited (AFL). Furthermore, AEU cannot engage in any other business activities during the entire term of the loan, in order not to mix the risk with other projects. Shareholders and managing directors of AEU are independent of the Ariya Group. In addition, a liquidity buffer of 25.000€ of funds raised through crowdlending will remain at the disposal of AEU. This buffer will serve as a financial cushion for any necessary measures by the issuer if the project owner (AFL) fails to meet its payment obligations.
• Ariya Finergy Limited (AFL): the local asset company. It acts as a borrower of AEU and remains the owner of the project assets that are financed and generated with the project loan. These assets are pledged to AEU, during the entire term of the loan. AFL may not make any other loans during the term of this loan without the consent of AEU. AFL may not engage in any business activities other than in the field in which it is already engaged during the term of the loan.
• Payments in USD: all contracts require customers to pay Ariya Finergy Limited in USD. Since a predominant part of Ariya's customers conduct international business and have revenues in hard currency, currency risks associated with the local currency KES are thus decisively reduced.
• Equity financing: AFL and its parent company Ariya Finergy Holding Limited Mauritius (AFHL Mauritius) will contribute 15% of the project costs in the form of a subordinated loan. From the perspective of the borrower (the German company Ariya Emissions UG), these funds provide a buffer against losses, for example from currency risks between customer payments in USD and payment obligations from the project loan to the borrower in EUR. In addition, the parent company will also issue a guarantee in favour of its subsidiary, AFL. Thus, AFL can also draw on the economic potential of the businesses that the parent company operates.

Guarantee by the parent company: AFHL Mauritius will issue a guarantee in favour of Ariya Finergy Limited (AFL). For the repayment of the project loan to the German issuer, the Kenyan asset management company AFL can thus also draw on the economic potential of the C&I businesses that AFHL operates in Kenya, which is legally and economically independent of AFL.

Project assets are given as collateral: the assets being financed under this campaign are made available to the German issuer Ariya Emissions UG, by the Kenyan project company AFL, as collateral for the loan. The assets include: the solar plants or the customer receivables due to AFL from the plants subsequently sold and leased, and from power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the customers. The 5 projects described generate planned customer receivables of USD 2,037,000 (around EUR 1,7 million) over the entire term.

Download Key Investment Information Sheet

The Promoter

About Ariya Emissions UG

The Ariya Group has been active in the solar industry in Kenya since 2015 as a service provider for commercial customers. So far, the company has installed 25 systems with a payback rate of 100%. In 2016, the business model was awarded in the Powering Agriculture Energy Grand Challenge. In 2020, Ariya Group's solar PV energy management controller project was selected for financial support from Innovate UK. In 2021, Jenny Fletcher (Ariya Finergy’s CEO) won the African Solar Industry Associations (AFSIA) ‘Woman in Solar of the Year’ award.

Ariya Finergy Limited (AFL) is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Ariya Finergy Holdings Limited, Mauritius (AFHL Mauritius). AFL is a special purpose vehicle established by AFHL Mauritius specifically to finance solar energy projects. This was done to ensure that the financed assets would not be impacted by construction and procurement risks that may be associated with AFHL. AFL acts as the asset company on the ground in Kenya and takes the investors' loan in the form of a project loan from Ariya Emissions UG (limited liability). Throughout the life of the loan, AFL remains the owner of the project assets financed by the crowdlending.

Ariya Finergy Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2015. Its branch in Kenya acts as the procurement and construction company for the Group. AFHL Kenya designs, installs and operates renewable energy systems. These include photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, smart integrated batteries, and power stabilization mechanisms. Installing on-grid and off-grid solutions. AFHL Kenya's holistic approach ensures that its customers are provided with the most appropriate technology or combination of technologies to ensure optimal economic returns and environmental benefits. The company's goal is to unlock the potential for clean energy and power stabilization in East Africa's commercial and industrial sector, which remains largely untapped due to a lack of sufficient technical knowledge and financing.

The founders of AFHL Kenya were brought together by a desire to improve the lives of the Kenyan people as well as to help businesses grow and become more sustainable by providing clean, renewable and reliable energy.

• Jenny Fletcher (CEO and co-founder): born in Kenya, although she has worked and travelled extensively in other countries, she has always been drawn back to Kenya. She has 28 years of experience building a variety of successful businesses in the for-profit and non-profit sectors in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia, and has local knowledge and strong personal connections within a wide range of industries and the private and public sectors in East Africa.
• Troy Barrie (CTO and co-founder): has extensive expertise in the areas of solar PV, energy storage, smart controls, and distributed generation as a means of ensuring power quality. As a registered "Professional Engineer," Troy Barrie has global experience in manufacturing, commercial product deployment, and customer relations, and has implemented complex systems in several countries in North America, Africa, and Asia.

The team of 20 currently consists of 11 engineers as well as financial and legal specialists. Collectively, they have over 100 years of experience in the solar industry and more than 30 years of experience in the development of batteries and power stabilization solutions.

Just this February, Ariya won the prize "EPC Company of the Year” (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) at the African Solar Congress 2022 Awards.

The team

Jenny Fletcher

Co-Founder and CEO

Troy Barrie

Co-founder and CTO

Business Model

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