28 Nov SEAF Invests in SunCo to Accelerate Just Transition in Latin America
Bogotá, Colombia (November, 2023) SEAF, a global impact investing firm, has announced an investment in Sunco, a pioneer in green technology based in Colombia. Sunco provides access to basic universal services based on solar energy and water as tools for social, environmental, and economic transformation, mainly to rural, underserved communities.
Sunco designs, commercializes, installs, commissions, operates, and maintains on-grid, off-grid, and micro-grid energy systems. Using energy access and technology as a tool for financial inclusion and driving rural electrification, Sunco has installed more than 11 megawatts of distributed energy and impacted more than 170,000 lives in 28 Colombian states. Additionally, Sunco has installed more than 4,000 photovoltaic solutions, impacting more than 1,200 schools, more than 54,000 students and more than 2,000 teachers.
In 2022, Sunco launched the first off-grid utility in LATAM that will reach more than 30 MW of energy assets under operation, all monitored and controlled under Sunco’s proprietary, government-certified IoT metering technology. Sunco’s positive environmental impact is further strengthened with products that reduce 17 thousand tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Since its inception, the company reduced more than 12 million tons of CO2 emissions.
SEAF’s investment is driving the creation of a regional player with future growth driven by the migration from traditional energy sources to non-conventional renewables, coupled with the digitalization and decentralization of energy production and storage. Such growth will further benefit off-grid and on-grid individuals and transform the utility sector, accelerating the region’s economic recovery and fossil-fuel independence while providing environmental and social impact.
Mauricio Samper, SEAF Managing Director of Colombia notes, “Our investment in Sunco is a testament to our commitment to supporting innovative and impactful companies that are driving economic and social development in Colombia and beyond.”
In addition to driving environmental impact, Sunco promotes the participation of women in economic activities. The company has a gender diverse management team and its product disproportionally benefitted women and girls in PDET zones. The company has also implemented ESG policies as well as established a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee responsible for ensuring that these policies are followed and that the required steps are taken to achieve and promote gender equality. Furthermore, the company engages in responsible sourcing with a particular emphasis on zero tolerance for forced labor.
“Sunco was founded with the purpose of using energy as a tool for social and economic transformation through which, while developing technology in rural territories, we found great opportunities for our products and services and discovered our own unique technology to serve new countries and utilities in their path to improve lives while they decarbonize and digitize. Now many partners are willing to join in Sunco Mission to make the “Sun rise for all”” said Juan Diego Gómez, Sunco’s CEO.
SEAF’s investment in Sunco is in collaboration with the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).