PEG Africa (also known as PEG) is a

for profit Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

corporation, financing and deploying

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

to households and SMEs in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. 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 An electrical grid (or electricity network) is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power tran ...

. The loans are repaid by customers in small increments, using

mobile payments Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cas ...

. The solar power home systems can be used by customers as collateral for loans on further products and services.

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. Whalan also started the first crowdfunding site for energy lending in 2009. 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 A series A is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. It can be followed by the word round, investment or financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in excha ...

round with a total of $7.5 million. In 2017, the company raised a further $13.5 million through a combination of debt and Series B equity financing. 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 taking the total funding raised by PEG to $50 million USD. Since 2016, PEG Africa has been awarded the

B Corporation In business, a company that uses the “Certified B Corporation” trademark (also B Corporation or B Corp) is a for-profit corporation certified for its social impact by B Lab, a global non-profit organization. To be granted and to maintain c ...

‘''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 Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

(CSR) initiative in Ghana named PEG Boafo. The initiative aims to provide education and healthcare support to remote communities in

. In March 2018 PEG provided lighting systems for a school and a medical facility in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi- ...

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

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Accra Companies based in Abidjan Companies based in Bamako Financial services companies of Senegal Financial services companies of Ivory Coast Financial services companies of Mali Ghanaian companies established in 2013 Ivorian companies established in 2013 B Lab-certified corporations