d.light's PAYGo solar bet: from kerosene lamps to a $1B securitization milestone

For-profit solar company selling pay-as-you-go solar home systems and appliances to off-grid households in Africa and Asia, financing purchases through customer installment payments.

Off-grid households will pay for solar in small installments; pooled into investment-grade green bonds, those payments unlock capital for millions more customers.

In 2004 Sam Goldman, a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, saw a neighbor's son badly burned in a kerosene accident; at Stanford GSB he met Ned Tozun and the two founded d.light upon graduating in 2007. The first product launched in 2008, with a founding goal of moving 100 million people off kerosene by 2020 - a milestone d.light says it reached in January 2020.

d.light scaled cash-sale lanterns across Africa and Asia, then shifted to pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) installment sales so customers could afford bigger solar systems and appliances. Since 2020 it has financed growth by selling its customer receivables: a $238M multi-currency facility in Kenya, a $125M facility in Tanzania, a local-currency securitization in Nigeria, and in June 2026 a $50M green bond arranged by Standard Chartered with a full guarantee from the Green Guarantee Company.

Scaling: the June 2026 bond - four-year maturity, BBB rating, listed on the London Stock Exchange's International Securities Market - pushed d.light's cumulative securitized financing past $1 billion, and the company expects to support more than 20 million first-time energy connections and create 50,000 jobs by 2030.

Kerosene lighting is dangerous, poor quality and expensive over time, giving a cheap solar alternative a clear wedge.

Installment payments match how off-grid households actually earn and spend, making PAYGo the pricing model that fits the customer.

Securitizing receivables lets a capital-hungry solar company recycle money into new connections instead of depending on grants and impact funds.

The Green Guarantee Company's guarantee plus a London listing pulled mainstream institutional investors into a niche asset class for the first time.

Dependable small payments from low-income customers can become investment-grade assets when collected at scale; repayment track records and guarantees matter more than the product price tag.

As of June 2026 d.light is scaling as one of Africa's best-capitalized off-grid solar companies. Its $50M green bond (23 June 2026, BBB from Fitch, fully guaranteed by the Green Guarantee Company) is expected to support clean-energy access for about 4.3 million people. With the $238M Kenya facility, $125M Tanzania facility and Nigerian securitization since 2020, cumulative securitized financing exceeds $1 billion. Investors such as Legal & General and Calvert Impact Capital signal mainstream money entering off-grid energy. Next stated milestone: 20 million first-time connections by 2030.