SunCulture, a pioneering solar irrigation company, has secured a $27.5 million investment as part of its Series B financing round. This funding was facilitated by InfraCo Africa’s investment arm and includes a combination of equity, debt, grants, and carbon financing. With this latest influx, SunCulture’s total funding has reached $65 million since its inception. The company aims to raise a total of $219 million to deploy 274,000 solar irrigation systems across Kenya.

CEO Samir Ibrahim expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration with investors, focusing on shared goals of enhancing agricultural productivity. In sub-Saharan Africa, many farmers rely on rainfed agriculture or use diesel and petrol pumps, which are not only costly but also harmful to the environment.

SunCulture introduces a more sustainable solution by offering small-scale farmers solar-powered water pumps. These pumps, which are capable of displacing up to 1,200 liters of water per hour, are designed for smallholdings ranging from 1-3 acres. The innovative company helps offset up to half the cost of these systems through the sale of carbon credits, making them an affordable alternative to traditional fuel-based pumps.

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Operating under a “Pay-As-You-Grow” model, SunCulture has expanded beyond Kenya to Uganda and Ivory Coast, with distribution agreements in place in Ethiopia, Zambia, and Togo.

The need for such technology is critical as only about 4% of the 700 million Africans dependent on small-scale farms have access to irrigation. Ibrahim highlights the transformative potential of irrigation technology, noting that it is an "old, unsexy technology" but one that could quintuple yield outputs.