Bridgin Partners with SunCulture to Launch First-of-Its-Kind Financing Model for Kenyan Smallholder Farmers

Bridgin  has partnered with SunCulture , a market leader in solar irrigation, to launch a pioneering financing structure that will support the expansion of clean-tech solutions for smallholder farmers across Kenya. This first-of-its-kind model is designed to unlock local currency capital for climate-smart agriculture, at a scale and cost that traditional financing tools have failed to achieve.

Through this partnership, Bridgin will finance portfolios of SunCulture’s farmer receivables, allowing the company to reach more customers while de-risking its balance sheet and reinvesting in scale.

“Financing plays a key role in the affordability and accessibility of solar-powered irrigation systems to smallholder farming communities, which historically have been underserved by traditional financial providers, mainly due to lack of adequate credit assessment processes and therefore understanding of risk, for lending to smallholder farmer). Bridgin closes this gap by providing live monitoring and risk assessment of payment performance on the portfolio of assets being financed.”

– Martin Andersen, Finance Strategy, SunCulture

The structure uses a ring-fenced, off-balance sheet SPV, features credit enhancements, and can accommodate blended finance capital – all made possible through Bridgin’s tech-enabled platform.

“This structure is more than a financial instrument: it’s a blueprint for scaling rural innovation. By designing for the realities of small-ticket, high-impact receivables, we’re making it possible to direct capital where it’s most urgently needed. We’re especially excited to partner with SunCulture, whose work in sustainable agriculture directly addresses pressing climate challenges while improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Investors can download our investment brief for a detailed breakdown of the structure, facility mechanics, and innovative features we’ve designed.”

– Manon Dubois, Fintech Business Lead, Bridgin

Proven Impact, Now Scalable

SunCulture’s solar irrigation systems have helped tens of thousands of smallholder farmers increase yields, reduce vulnerability to erratic rainfall, and access new sources of income. Yet the challenge of financing this model remains a challenge to its growth.

SunCulture has demonstrated strong impact as well as proven business performance:

• Up to 300% increase in yields reported by farmers using its systems
• 80% reduction in water usage through efficient drip irrigation
• 87% of customers reporting increased income
• 96% reporting improved quality of life, including access to water and more time for income-generating activities
• 31% of clients are women, with over 80% reporting increased productivity
• Sold more than 50,000 solar-irrigation systems to date, directly impacting hundreds of thousands of lives in rural communities
• Issued more than $35m in credit to over 35,000 smallholder farmers, of which 95% are accessing asset financing for the first time in their lives

These results are not hypothetical: they are already happening. What’s missing is the capital to reach the millions of smallholder farmers who remain underserved.

“A key benefit for SunCulture is that the facility repayments follow the payments from the end customers, which simplifies capital management. Other benefits include the long-term nature of the vehicle, which aims to reduce fundraising and transaction costs over time. More importantly, the facility enables scale as investors can enter the vehicle and disburse funds for a diversified or select portfolio of assets, which unlocks potential for raising additional capital for new products and subordinated capital like equity for expansion. It’s our hope that access to such facilities can enable more funds flowing through to SMEs that are improving the lives of people and our environment.”

– Martin Andersen, Finance Strategy, SunCulture

A New Category of Finance for Impact Markets

Financing innovation in emerging markets often stumbles at the intersection of high perceived risk, small ticket sizes, and low data transparency. Bridgin’s structure is designed to overcome all three.

By integrating directly with SunCulture’s loan systems, Bridgin can assess receivables performance in real time and offer automated, data-driven investment monitoring. The structure is repeatable, cost-effective, and built to scale across multiple sectors, including clean energy, agri-tech, and mobility.

With growing interest from both private and catalytic investors, the model offers a new path to channel capital into the backbone of rural economies – starting with this anchor deal in Kenya, and expanding from there.

“Our mission at Bridgin is to unlock receivables-based financing for companies solving the hardest problems in the hardest places. This deal proves it can be done efficiently, responsibly, and with impact at the centre.”

– Siten Mandalia, CEO, Masunga (parent company of Bridgin)