12/9/2018 – Canopy Power, a provider of energy solutions based in Singapore has on Monday raised its Series A financing round for regional expansion and customer acquisition.
Four investors participated in the undisclosed Series A, which includes three new investors – CMR Group, Gaia Impact Fund, PHPower – and existing investor Golden Elm Investments.
Canopy Power designs and builds microgrid products that help make renewable energy sources, like solar panels and microgrids, more accessible to businesses and communities.
The company targets those who are dependent on diesel power generation and weak grids by providing them greener alternatives that can achieve substantial cost savings through reduced diesel fuel consumption, in addition to reducing pollutants and CO2 emissions.
Technically, a microgrid is a local and independent energy system that can generate, distribute, store, and regulate the flow of electricity. It is essentially a scaled-down version of the main grid and enables the ease to operte in remote and isolated areas.
The green energy provider currently serves customers in remote industries such as mining and plantation operations, island resorts, remote villages and communities, as well as island-based utility companies.
The funds raised will be used for R&D, as well as customer acquisition and expansion into new markets in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region.
“This fundraising round has ensured that Canopy Power will continue strongly on the growth path,” said Canopy Power’s Founder and CEO Sujay Malve.
“The microgrids market in Asia is just opening up and we believe our company is at the forefront of this curve. We believe that strong synergies with our investors will help us to bring innovative solutions to our customers,” Malve added.
Gaia Impact Fund, one of the investors in the deal, commented on the potential of emerging markets, specifically in Southeast Asia.
“We believe that solar mini-grids can drastically reduce CO2 emissions in insular areas and have a strong social impact on some of the Southeast Asian communities, which may be too isolate to take advantage of large-scale infrastructure development,”
“We will bring on board our entrepreneurial expertise in the C&I energy sector, particularly to support customers project financing,” said Hélène Demaegdt, the Co-founder and Partner at Gaia Impact Fund.
Gaia Impact Fund is a French impact fund initiated by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and philanthropists from the renewable energy & impact finance sectors.
The fund aims to kickstart innovative energy access ventures where energy is need the most: among off-grid populations in emerging countries.
