Pollinate wins new investment towards lighting up Indian slums with solar

Pollinate Energy, the award-winning Australian-founded social enterprise that is bringing solar power to the slums of India, has won new financial backing, with an investment from boutique fund Pangaea Impact Investments.

Pollinate, which last year notched up its 10,000th slum dwelling switched from dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps to solar lighting, has been working in India since it was founded in 2012 by six young Australians.

The group’s innovative ‘Pollinator’ model, enables India’s urban poor to access solar energy, through an affordable weekly payment plan. After approximately 5 weeks of payments households own a solar lamp outright, guaranteed for 5 years.

The UN award-winning start-up also acts as a catalyst for the development of other social enterprises in Australia, through its International Fellowships (for University students and Professionals) program.

Pangaea – which focuses its investments on focuses on social enterprises seeking innovative solutions to humanitarian problems – said on Wednesday that it chosen to invest in Pollinate to support its “remarkable and multi-faceted” work, with benefits ranging from environmental to health and economic empowerment.

“This investment is critical in assisting Pollinate to scale our in-country resources that will further drive the long-term sustainability of the company,” said Pollinate co-founder and COO, Alexie Seller.

“Pangaea was an obvious choice for us. It is clear that we share a common mission in trying to build successful social enterprises and seed the next generation of social entrepreneurs.”