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Trine
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Lighting the Path to a Sustainable Future: Our Partnership with Sun King
Our partnership with Sun King, formerly Greenlight Planet (GLP), is one of our most inspiring and impactful collaborations, transforming the off-grid solar home market to bring light, safety, and opportunity to underserved communities. Founded in 2007 by engineers T. Patrick Walsh, Anish Thakkar, and Mayank Sekhsaria, Sun King set out with a simple yet powerful mission: to replace hazardous kerosene lamps with affordable, solar-powered lights in rural areas across Africa and Asia. Their ambition was clear and bold—illuminating lives for the 1.2 billion people living without reliable electricity due to lack of access or prohibitive costs.
A Partnership for Lasting Impact
Since 2017, our partnership with Sun King has brought a commitment of EUR 12.6 million in debt financing backed by the trust and vision of our impact investors like you. With a flawless track record, approximately EUR 11 million has already been repaid. This funding has been pivotal in empowering Sun King to scale its operations and deliver clean, renewable energy to countless communities. This journey exemplifies how mission-driven impact investing can create lasting, transformative change.
Sun King’s CFO recently noted:
“Since entering into a contract with Trine in 2019, we have been immensely grateful for the total of EUR 12.6 million provided to us. This loan has been instrumental in allowing Sun King to accelerate access to energy for off-grid communities across Africa. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our early investors who believed in our vision and supported us during our formative years, enabling us to grow into the industry leader we are today
Expanding Horizons and Building Resilience
Our collaboration with Sun King began just before the COVID-19 pandemic and continued throughout this unprecedented period. Despite the challenges, Sun King remained resilient and adaptable. In the early days, they primarily offered small, standalone solar lamps. Today, their product portfolio includes multi-light systems, radios, and solar-powered televisions. These products are available through an innovative PayGo model, enabling families to access complete solar home systems that not only replace kerosene but significantly improve their quality of life.
Powerful Impact by the Numbers
With the support of Trine investors, the partnership with Sun King has impacted over 1.7 million people, helping to reduce around 330,000 tons of CO₂ emissions while earning an average of 7% pa on their investments; the environmental and social impact will continue to be felt for years.
https://youtube.com/shorts/zpv-shPLWqI
Sun King’s reach extends beyond East Africa, expanding operations into Zambia, Nigeria, and Togo. Their commitment to sustainability and support for underserved populations was recently recognised with the Financial Times and World Bank’s Africa Sustainable Futures Award, highlighting their role in advancing energy access on the continent.
Illuminating the Future Together
We are proud to have supported Sun King’s remarkable journey, and we are deeply grateful to all Trine investors who have joined us in this mission. This collaboration showcases the powerful, lasting impact investors can make when supporting visionary companies like Sun King. Together, we’re illuminating the path to a brighter, cleaner future for millions.
While the final payment on Sun King’s current loan is due in June 2025, we are actively exploring new ways to continue supporting Sun King’s mission. Additionally, we have a range of other existing companies seeking investment. To learn more about these opportunities, please visit our investment page and join us in building a sustainable future for all.
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1 d
My family benefited from this off-grid lighting. Its a great relief from using kerosene lamps which pollute the air and are expensive to maintain. Thanks Trine.
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1 w
What an impactful collaboration, good job!
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2 w
Impacting over 1.7 people is very encouraging. And helping to reduce around 330,000 tons of CO2 emissions is a great milestones. Keep it up.
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Such partnerships are essential in promoting global environmental sustainability
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Emphasizing sustainability ensures the responsible use of finite resources, safeguarding biodiversity, forests, water bodies, and minerals for future generations.
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2 w
This is exemplary efforts showcasing the inner motivation for the betterment of the planet
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This exemplifies the power of mission-driven investing
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This is a remarkable step towards sustainability, bringing light and opportunity to those who need it most. Together, we are illuminating lives and paving the way for a brighter future!