Our Approach
AlphaMundi Foundation delivers customized and highly catalytic support to SMEs operating at the nexus of renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. We design and structure technical assistance projects, blended finance facilities, and results-based contracts designed to catalyze private sector investment and scale social enterprises
Blended Finance
AlphaMundi Foundation provides concessionary capital to structure innovative blended finance vehicles that de-risk SMEs and crowd-in private sector investment.
SunCulture designs and sells solar irrigation systems that help smallholder African farmers to improve crop yields and quality. In partnership with FSD Kenya, the Foundation designed a Second Loss Guarantee Facility for their Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYG”) receivables portfolio which has been negatively impacted due to COVID-19. The Facility has allowed SunCulture to restart its PAYG loans, providing options for payment deferrals and supporting more people with improved food security and sustainable incomes. By de-risking the potential for default in the PAYG portfolio, the Second Loss Facility catalyzed a USD 11M PAYG & Inventory Working Capital Facility that will support the company well into 2022.
SMEs in emerging markets, who already faced unique challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to bear the brunt of this crisis. Technical assistance from the AlphaMundi Foundation provides much needed support to address prior challenges that have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and/or new challenges that have arisen due to the changing business environment.
REDAVIA provides on-site solar to businesses in Ghana and Kenya to supplement the utility grid or on-site diesel generators. The company offers long-term lease contracts to its clients and takes care of the installation, maintenance, and upfront costs. Through a results-based contract, REDAVIA will integrate an Energy Storage (ES) System and Energy Management System (EMS) into Menegai Tea Farms’ existing solar farm that powers their irrigation system. The combination of ES and EMS will store oversupplies of energy and protect the Farm from frequent grid outages. By providing these systems, REDAVIA aims to stabilize the power supply, avoid plant outages, and allow for more efficient irrigation processes. Project performance targets include kWhs/month of clean energy produced, CO2/month abated, and number of employees impacted.
Amped Innovation designs and manufactures solar home systems with 6x the power handling capacity of competing lighting systems at just one-third of the cost. Their products use fewer but higher quality components, allowing for savings without sacrificing performance. AlphaMundi Foundation supported Amped to pilot an innovative, new shipping method. The Foundation provided a 12-month, interest-free repayable grant for the company to build and import their first container of solar PowerHubs and fridge/freezers to East Africa for in-country warehousing. The project allowed Amped’s distribution partners, who were negatively impacted by COVID-19, to purchase smaller sub-container orders of 100-500 products at a time. Previously, Amped could only support partners purchasing full-container orders (500-3,000 products). By offering sub-container sized orders, Amped can decrease overall capital pressure per order and serve a broader set of distributors in East Africa at a lower barrier to entry. Establishing this shipping method catalyzed a USD 3M Working Capital Facility for Amped to further scale their sales.
AlphaMundi Foundation offers results-based structuring options where financial incentives are tied to completion of predetermined social impact results. Milestone results are based on SME business model, product and/or service offering, and other relevant criteria. Milestone data tied to financial incentives are verified by a combination of AlphaMundis staff based in the region and/or a third-party.
REDAVIA provides on-site solar to businesses in Ghana and Kenya to supplement the utility grid or on-site diesel generators. The company offers long-term lease contracts to its clients and takes care of the installation, maintenance, and upfront costs. Through a results-based contract, REDAVIA will integrate an Energy Storage (ES) System and Energy Management System (EMS) into Menegai Tea Farms’ existing solar farm that powers their irrigation system. The combination of ES and EMS will store oversupplies of energy and protect the Farm from frequent grid outages. By providing these systems, REDAVIA aims to stabilize the power supply, avoid plant outages, and allow for more efficient irrigation processes. Project performance targets include kWhs/month of clean energy produced, CO2/month abated, and number of employees impacted.
Research & Feasibility Studies
AlphaMundi Foundation provides support for SMEs to conduct studies that allow them to design innovative products and technologies, integrate clean energy into their operations, and/or explore new market expansion.
Kentaste Products Limited (Kentaste) is Kenya's leading manufacturer of coconut-based products (oil, flour, milk, and cream). The company sources coconuts from a network of over 2,000 organic and Fairtrade Certified smallholder farmers, and their 120 full-time employees process the coconuts into a range of products for sale in 300 regional grocery stores and for export. The Foundation supported new product development research to expand the company’s coconut-based food and beverage offerings. With these new plans, Kentaste successfully launched new products to market and achieved improved profitability through product diversification. The Foundation also supported a feasibility study that evaluated the viability of transforming coconut shells to briquettes as a renewable energy source for the company's processing activities. As a result of this project, the company is pursuing a coconut shell briquette pilot in partnership with a Ghanaian firm. Cumulatively, support from the Foundation catalyzed USD 500K in private investment for Kentaste.
Lohas Beans is a sustainable and transparent Certified Organic and Fair-Trade Specialty coffee exporter based in Colombia. The Foundation supported a solar power feasibility study to transform their Santa Marta milling facility to run on clean energy. The company has since completed solar power installation and 100% of the facility’s energy is now self-generated. Transitioning to solar has reduced processing costs by 20% and will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 73 tons.
CorpoCampo is the market leader in Colombia among producers of hearts-of-palm and açaí, with over 90% market share in both products. The Foundation supported a feasibility study that evaluated the financial, technical, design, and social impact of transforming the current açaí value chain to solar. By transitioning to solar, the company aimed to expand the processing and storage capacity of its plant, while expanding its sourcing networks. As a result of the Foundation’s support, CorpoCampo developed a blueprint to convert the main processing plant to use renewable energy sources. Once the plan is approved by the local government, CorpoCampo’s team will start transitioning the plant to solar.
ANKA Madagascar is a female-founded leading developer and operator of smart, solar PV-based mini grids in Madagascar. The company specializes in providing clean electricity to rural areas and is working to catalyze rural wealth by developing a multi-dimensional AgriGrid model. The Foundation supported a feasibility study for their AgriGrid model. The model aims to integrate mini-grid electrification with agribusiness opportunities in rural communities. The study identified opportunities for repurposing and processing fiber from banana trunks into handicrafts and sanitary pads. With the study, ANKA now has a concrete AgriGrid investment opportunity that can be piloted and assessed for replication in the country and broader region.
Olivado is the world's largest supplier of organic, fair-trade avocado oil and is the leading brand sold in supermarkets in more than 35 countries. They buy their avocados directly from a network of over 3,000 Fair Trade certified farmers spanning Tanzania and Kenya - 43 percent of whom are women. The Foundation supported Olivado to expand applications of its self-sustaining, anaerobic bio-digester model that repurposes avocado waste into electricity, field, and fertilizer. Specifically, the company tested conversion kits for their corporate vans to run on a dual fuel scheme of petrol and biogas. Alongside cost savings on fuel, the project furthered Olivado’s strategic goal to incorporate renewable energy across its operations. The company now plans to replicate this practice with local transportation companies and scale the solution with commercial trucks that transport fruit from farms to factories in Kenya and Tanzania.
AlphaMundi Foundation supports founders with a range of financial planning needs, including budgeting, fundraising, cash flow management, and business model adjustments. This support can be specifically linked to a new product or regional expansion, or it may help SMEs to “institutionalize” financial practices in preparation for larger sums of private sector investment.
GET IT is the largest fresh food distribution company in Rwanda, specializing in connecting frontier market farmers, producers, and manufacturers to commercial kitchens. The Foundation supported GET IT as they pivoted their business model during the COVID-19 crisis to better serve export market clients. With grant funds from the Foundation, GET IT purchased equipment to significantly increase the quantity and quality of their products to meet export market demand. With improved equipment, GET IT passed their audit for organic chili certification, which will expand their access to new export markets. The company now also has access to essential equipment to expand the variety of produce they produce and export.
SunCulture
SunCulture designs and sells solar irrigation systems that help smallholder African farmers to improve crop yields and quality. The Foundation supported the development of the company’s Pay-As-You-Grow payment plan for its flagship product, the RainMaker. Through the project, SunCulture created a robust lending process that enables them to better serve their customers. By implementing the revised asset financing platform and sales agent training, SunCulture experienced rapid growth of credit sales to farmers and strengthened their client quality.
Operations
Operational technical assistance is often very catalytic to early- and growth-stage SMEs to address barriers to scale, formalize processes, and prepare for future investment. AlphaMundi supports operational improvements including optimizing supply chains, improving information management systems, and formalizing internal policies and processes.
Sistema.bio
Sistema.bio is a Mexican certified B-Corporation that manufactures, distributes, sells and installs biodigesters that transform livestock waste into organic fertilizer for crops and biogas for cooking, heating, and electricity. The Foundation supported a technical assistance project to develop the company’s product suppliers, distribution partners, and service providers. The project aimed to strengthen Sistema.bio’s supply chain, improve operational efficiencies, and meet the large demand for agricultural energy products in a new market. With new operational efficiencies, Sistema.bio has successfully launched new appliances in Kenya. Support from the Foundation through this project catalyzed USD 1.5 million in private investment for Sistema.bio.
Simusolar
Simusolar is a Tanzanian firm that provides and finances accessible, affordable, and energy-efficient equipment designed for off-grid businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Foundation provided support for Simusolar to develop an updated IT platform that integrated inventory management, loan management, and lead management systems. With these improvements, Simusolar has scaled into Uganda and is able to serve more smallholder farmers throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The Foundation’s support resulted in catalytic investments totalling USD 2.75 million.
Sanergy
Sanergy safely collects and treats over 12,000 tons of organic waste annually, including sanitation, municipal, and agricultural waste. The company converts this waste into valuable products, including insect-based proteins derived from black soldier flies (BSFL) for animal feed, organic fertilizer, and biomass fuel briquettes. The Foundation supported a technical business model review to help Sanergy scale up its use of insect-based protein and renewable energy in all operations. The review helped Sanergy plan to scale its animal protein production with a focus on maintaining quality and safety standards. As a result, the company launched a full-scale-scatory with the capacity to process 72,000 tons of organic and sanitation waste per year. The factory is the largest and first of its kind in East Africa, catalyzing USD 5.61 million in private sector investment.
InspiraFarms
InspiraFarms provides agribusinesses in emerging markets with cold rooms, packhouse facilities, and ripening chambers to reduce postharvest loss, cut energy costs, and improve market access. Foundation-supported technical assistance helped InspiraFarms scale up their operations and sales in existing markets. The project improved the company’s ability to target business development activities and understand competing cold room solutions. With improved market intelligence, InspiraFarms received USD 3.3 million in private sector investment and piloted a new storage-as-a-serve product offering in Kenya.
SunCulture
SunCulture designs and sells solar irrigation systems that help smallholder African farmers to improve crop yields and quality. The Foundation provided funding for SunCulture to develop a learning and development (L&D) framework. The framework supports the progressional growth of middle management to overcome skills gaps and develop new skills to support future business needs. Through a robust training curriculum, the project has ensured key talent, and specifically women middle managers, are equipped to become strategic leaders and further their professional development. Middle managers also intend to share learnings and train their team members on relevant topics - fostering leadership skills at all levels.
Please email us at info@alphumdi.ch for a complete list of projects
“The support provided by the AlphaMundi Foundation helped us weather learnings and set the stage for exponential, but measured growth. We will be continuing our work on evaluation of solar irrigation technologies as a tool for moving farmers out of poverty and into the middle class.”