Simusolar Issue 3: Tanzania - 7% Bond
£100,000 | 79 | 0 |
£75 invested
For every £75 invested into this campaign, Simusolar will be able to purchase and supply a solar fishing light system to a Tanzanian fisherman.
107 off-grid farms
Your investment will help Simusolar provide clean energy water pumps and irrigation systems to 107 off-grid farms
Founded in 2014, Simusolar provides and finances accessible, affordable and energy-efficient systems designed for smallholder farmers and fishermen in Sub-Saharan Africa. The solar systems they provide are designed to meet the needs of rural smallholders and to help enable them to achieve their vision in an affordable and sustainable way. Since their incorporation, Simusolar have installed over 4,500 solar systems from home systems, to solar fishing lights and water pumps with plans to expand to a further 64,000 units over the next 5 years.
This project benefits from £50,000 match funding thanks to UK aid. This means that for every £1 invested into this project by the crowd, an additional £1 will be invested by UK Aid. The project also benefits from first-loss cover: this means that, in the unlikely event that Simusolar Inc. is unable to make all of its bond repayments, repayment of the crowd would be prioritised ahead of UK aid - providing an additional level of protection for the investor.
About Simusolar
Key product information
Issuer: Simusolar Inc.
Issuing Country: USA
Investment target: £100,000
Minimum investment: £50
Maximum investment: No maximum
Maturity: 18 months
Expected interest rate: 7% per annum
Witholding tax rate: 30% (Applicable when investing outside of the IFISA. It is possible for UK tax residents investing outside of the IFISA to reduce this withholding tax rate to 0% through completion of a W-8 BEN-E form. Investors are responsible for informing themselves as to their individual tax status. The W-8 BEN-E form will be sent to investors by Simusolar once the offer is funded.)
Interest payment frequency: 6 monthly
Notional repayment: 6 monthly
Financial instrument: Unsecured interest bearing bond
Security: Unsecured
Key risks
This is a bond issued by a single company (rather than a savings product) and therefore it is recommended that you are careful with the amount you invest.
You must read the investment memorandum (provided below) where a full statement of risks is presented.
Documents
See what Simusolar do
Simusolar are one of the pioneering solar companies supported by the Energise Africa initiative, a joint venture between Lendahand and Ethex
What the project investment will enable
The funds from this raise will be split 25:75 with £25,000 going towards purchasing solar fishing systems and the remaining £75,000 towards purchasing and supplying solar water pump systems to small-scale farmers.
Simusolar's Catch Fishing Lamps are manufactured by Omnivoltaic and are Lighting Global Certified. Each system contains a 13W solar PV, lithium battery, waterproof LED light and charging slot for mobile phones.
Fishing is the third most important export industry in Tanzania, and its lakes and oceans are a major hub for night fishing, with up to 100,000 fishers many of whom use kerosene lamps. The costs of maintaining these lamps is high with between 35-50% of fisher's take home pay being used to pay for lighting equipment and fuel. Kerosene also contributes high levels of greenhouse gases which can be harmful to both fishermen and the environment. Each solar fishing lamp is specifically designed for night fishing and is able to run for 14 hours straight when fully charged allowing for a constant source of light throughout the night with which to attract fish.
Simusolar also offer solar water pumps to small-scale farmers, allowing them to take advantage of solar power to expand their cultivation area and reduce their dependency on seasonal weather patterns. Simusolar provide a variety of different sized surface and submersible pumps all of which come from reliable suppliers (ennos, Aquaroyal, SunCulture) with an average cost of £700 per system. Each system is provided with a flexible PAYG (pay-as-you-go) financing plan, that helps to enable farmers to adjust their payments based on their harvest cycle.
Simusolar
The money raised from this campaign will go toward supplying 333 solar fishing light systems to Tanzanian fishermen and 107 solar water pumps to off-grid farm sites. The funding will support the sale of equipment in areas around Lake Victoria in Mwanza, Mara, Muleba, Ukerewe and Kagera.
Having already successfully installed over 4,500 systems since their incorporation, Simusolar is aiming to deploy a further 64,000 solar systems of varying size within 5 years to benefit farmers, fishermen and households across Tanzania.
Social and environmental impact
Solar fishing light systems and solar water pump systems have been shown to have a significant impact on farmers' and fishers' lives and the environment. Africa is characterised by low productivity, and reliance on rain-fed agriculture and so for smallhold farmers expanding irrgation is a key mitigation strategy. Solar water pump and solar fishing systems produce fewer pollutants and greenhouse gases compared to other fuel-based systems whilst also reducing costs which would have otherwishe been incurred from purchasing these fuels.
Social Impact
Social impact statistics taken from a business impact report conducted by Acumen was produced to look at how Simusolar's solar products have improved and impacted their customer's lives.
90%
of fishing light customers said that they saved money and increased their overall income.
53%
of respondents felt that their quality of life had improved with the addition of their Simusolar product.
65%
of home system customers mentioned the convenience of having bright and continuous light at home.
Offer Documents
Simusolar Issue 3 - Offer Document (Log In to download)