In a move to boost climate-resilient farming, Bridgin has partnered with solar irrigation provider SunCulture to roll out a US$15 million financing structure aimed at supporting clean-tech adoption among Kenyan smallholder farmers.
The new model is designed to unlock local currency capital for climate-smart agriculture, providing a scalable, cost-effective alternative to conventional financing tools, which have historically struggled with high risk, small ticket sizes, and lack of data transparency.
Structure & Mechanism
Under the arrangement, Bridgin will finance portfolios of SunCulture’s receivables — effectively buying or advancing funds against payments owed by farmers — thereby allowing SunCulture to grow its customer base without overburdening its own balance sheet.
To manage risk, the architecture uses a ring-fenced, off-balance sheet special purpose vehicle (SPV), includes credit enhancements, and can integrate blended finance from various capital sources.
The design also embeds real-time monitoring and risk assessment via Bridgin’s tech platform, enabling “live monitoring and risk assessment of payment performance on the portfolio of assets being financed.”
“Financing plays a key role in the affordability and accessibility of solar-powered irrigation systems to smallholder farming communities, which historically have been underserved by traditional financial providers, mainly due to lack of adequate credit assessment processes and therefore understanding of risk, for lending to smallholder farmer). Bridgin closes this gap by providing live monitoring and risk assessment of payment performance on the portfolio of assets being financed,” said SunCulture’s Martin Andersen
“A key benefit for SunCulture is that the facility repayments follow the payments from the end customers, which simplifies capital management. Other benefits include the long-term nature of the vehicle, which aims to reduce fundraising and transaction costs over time. More importantly, the facility enables scale as investors can enter the vehicle and disburse funds for a diversified or select portfolio of assets, which unlocks potential for raising additional capital for new products and subordinated capital like equity for expansion. It’s our hope that access to such facilities can enable more funds flowing through to SMEs that are improving the lives of people and our environment,” he added.
“This structure is more than a financial instrument: it’s a blueprint for scaling rural innovation. By designing for the realities of small-ticket, high-impact receivables, we’re making it possible to direct capital where it’s most urgently needed. We’re especially excited to partner with SunCulture, whose work in sustainable agriculture directly addresses pressing climate challenges while improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers,” said Manon Dubois, Bridgin’s Fintech Business Lead.
“Our mission at Bridgin is to unlock receivables-based financing for companies solving the hardest problems in the hardest places. This deal proves it can be done efficiently, responsibly, and with impact at the centre,” said Siten Mandalia, CEO of Masunga (Bridgin’s parent company).
Demonstrated Impact, Now Ready to Scale
SunCulture to date has sold over 50,000 solar irrigation systems, directly impacting “hundreds of thousands of lives” in rural communities.
Through its Pay-As-You-Grow model, it has issued more than USD 35 million in credit to over 35,000 smallholder farmers, 95 % of whom had never accessed asset financing before.
SunCulture cites multiple impact metrics:
- Up to 300 % increase in yields for farmers using its systems
- 80 % reduction in water usage (via drip irrigation)
- 87 % of customers reporting increased income
- 96 % reporting improved quality of life, including better water access and more time for income-generating activities
- 31 % of clients are women, with over 80 % of them reporting increased productivity
While these results are compelling, Bridgin and SunCulture argue that the key constraint has long been access to scalable capital — and that this new facility may help close that gap to reach millions more underserved farmers.
Broader Significance & Investor Invitation
This model seeks to carve a new category of finance for impact markets, especially in emerging economies where conventional lenders shy away from small-ticket rural financing.
The integration of digital monitoring and receivables tracking helps bridge data transparency and risk evaluation challenges often associated with such portfolios.
Bridgin is onboarding investment partners for this and other receivables-backed opportunities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The firm is positioning this as a channel for deploying capital into climate adaptation, food security, and rural development, with built-in transparency and risk controls.
Interested investors are encouraged to request the firm’s investment brief for details on structure mechanics and performance projections.
