PEG Africa

PEG Africa (also known as PEG) is a for profit corporation, financing and deploying solar power to households and SMEs in West Africa.[1][2] The company provides loans for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar power home systems and solar water irrigation to customers that do not have access to an electrical grid.[3] The loans are repaid by customers in small increments, using mobile payments. The solar power home systems can be used by customers as collateral for loans on further products and services.[4][5][6]

PEG Africa Ltd.
TypePrivate
IndustryAsset financing
Solar power
Founded2013
FoundersHugh Whalan
Nate Heller
Headquarters
Accra, Ghana
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Dakar, Senegal
Bamako, Mali
Area served
West Africa
Websitewww.pegafrica.com

History

The company was founded in 2013 by Hugh Whalan (CEO) and Nate Heller (COO). Whalan and Heller had previously run a solar financing and distribution company called Impact Energies in Ghana, which was acquired in 2013 in the first off-grid solar exit in Africa.[7] Whalan also started the first crowdfunding site for energy lending in 2009.[8]

After commercial launch in 2015, the company had over 10,000 customers and 29 service centers across Ghana by 2016, and closed its Series A funding round with a total of $7.5 million.[9] In 2017, the company raised a further $13.5 million through a combination of debt and Series B equity financing.[10][11] Investors across both rounds of funding included Energy Access Ventures (EAV), Blue Haven Initiative, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies, Impact Assets, Acumen, and PCG Investments, among others. In late 2016, the company extended its operations to the Ivory Coast, in 2018 to Senegal and in 2019 to Mali. In March 2019, the company announced a $25 million Series C round[12] taking the total funding raised by PEG to $50 million USD.

Since 2016, PEG Africa has been awarded the B Corporation ‘best for Customers’ and ‘best for the World’ awards. In 2017, the company introduced free hospital insurance for its customers and in 2018 started a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative in Ghana named PEG Boafo.[13][14] The initiative aims to provide education and healthcare support to remote communities in West Africa. In March 2018 PEG provided lighting systems for a school and a medical facility in the Volta Region.[15] Under the Boafo initiative, the company has also established a Learning Center and improved the Community Health Facility in Amotare, a rural community near Begoro.[16]

PEG received the International Ashden Award for Innovative Finance in 2017, an SME Ghana Award in 2018[2] and the Ghana Energy Award for Off Grid Energy Solution 2018.[17] The company features on the London Stock Exchange Group list of Companies to Inspire Africa 2017 in the Renewable Energy category,[18] and in 2018 was the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.[19] In 2019, PEG became the first company to qualify for the 2x challenge for gender equality.[20]

References
  1. "Five African tech trends to look out for in 2018". BBC News. 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  2. "PEG Africa wins top industry award". Joy FM (Ghana). Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. "Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment". Harvard Business School. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  4. "Ghana's leading off-grid solar company PEG raises $7.5 million to expand activities in West Africa". Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  5. "PEG Africa won 2017 Ashden Award". Ashden. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  6. "PEG on London Stock Exchange Group". London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  7. "PV Talk: PEG Africa on the evolution of pay-as-you-go solar". PV Tech. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  8. "Energy In Common: New Microfinance Venture Fights Poverty with Clean Energy". HuffPost. 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  9. "PEG raises US$13.5 million for off-grid home solar in West Africa". PV Tech. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  10. "Solar company PEG Africa secures $13.5m funding". Disrupt Africa. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  11. "Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment". Harvard Business School. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  12. Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Solar Company PEG Africa Raises $25m In Series C Funding". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  13. "2018 B Corp Best for the World Lists". Tableau Software. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  14. "PEGAfrica overview on Benefit corporation". Benefit corporation. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  15. "PEG Africa supports three rural communities in Volta Region". Citi FM (Ghana). Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  16. "PEG Africa extends education and health support to rural community in E/R". Joy FM (Ghana). Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  17. "PEG Ghana recognised for off-grid energy solutions". Graphic Online. 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  18. "Renewable Energy". London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  19. "Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  20. "We're investing in West Africa's leading off-grid solar company". CDC Group. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
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