• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem

This Startup Has Brought Off-Grid Solar to 65 Million People

By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 21, 2016, 6:00 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Decade-old startup d.light has sold solar-powered lanterns and lights to millions of customers in off-grid rural areas like Sub-Saharan Africa.

But now the company, founded by two Stanford entrepreneurs, is shifting its focus to grow its business of selling larger, more powerful solar panels and solar-powered gear like radios and fans. Their complete home solar product can hold its own against a traditional power grid connection and a local electronics store, but for a fraction of the cost.

D.light CEO and co-founder Ned Tozun, who spoke to Fortune on the phone from Nairobi, says that’s the entire point. “We think solar will leapfrog the electric grid, like cell phones have leapfrogged landlines in Africa and Southeast Asia,” he says.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

On Wednesday morning, d.light announced that it had raised another round of $22.5 million in funding to grow its home solar business. About $15 million of that was in the form of equity from investors that specialize in energy investments in the developing world, including KawiSafi Ventures Fund and Energy Access Ventures.

Longtime investor Omidyar Network was also involved, as was NewQuest Capital Partners. In addition, $5 million of the round was a grant from the Shell Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Development Innovation Ventures, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund.

D.light has sold about 250,000 of these complete home solar systems. About half of its customers bought those systems using loans from micro-financing groups, and the other half are using d.light’s pay-as-you-go cell-phone-based payment system. Previously, d.light had partnered with a company called M-KOPA and was using M-KOPA’s payment system, but now d.light has developed its own service.

For more on Google’s solar site, watch Fortune’s video:

Clearly, these pay-as-you-go complete home solar systems are starting to provide good business. M-KOPA itself, which was founded by one of the original creators of the wildly successful mobile payment system M-Pesa, recently raised $19 million. That round was led by Generation Investment Management, a London-based fund started by investors David Blood and former Vice President Al Gore, and also included Virgin’s Richard Branson and Steve Case, founder of AOL.

Two other startups that are also using the cell-phone-based pay-as-you go solar model are Off Grid Electric and Azuri Technologies. Off Grid Electric has raised $25 million from DBL Partners, a fund that backed Tesla (TSLA) and SolarCity (SCTY), as well as SolarCity itself, and Vulcan Capital, the fund of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

See also: SunPower Embraces Drones and Robots to Help Evolve Its Solar Farms

The market might sound crowded already, but it’s actually just the beginning. There’s room for many companies.

While d.light has more recently focused on their complete home solar product, the company has a decade of experience selling its well-designed and ultra-cheap solar lanterns. The company has managed to sell enough of those to impact 65 million people, many of whom are families and school children that use the lights to read at night.

At the rate d.light is growing—the company now has more than 500 full-time employees—Tozun says it will be able to sell enough solar products, both home systems and lanterns, to impact 100 million people by 2018.

About the Author
By Katie Fehrenbacher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in

CEOs agree there’s an affordability crisis, but how to solve it isn’t so simple
NewslettersCEO Daily
CEOs agree there’s an affordability crisis, but how to solve it isn’t so simple
By Diane BradyJuly 23, 2026
2 hours ago
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family’s $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
Big Techphilanthropy
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family’s $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
By Sydney LakeJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago
Current ARM mortgage rates report for July 23, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current ARM mortgage rates report for July 23, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago
Current refi mortgage rates report for July 23, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current refi mortgage rates report for July 23, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago
Mortgage rates today, July 23, 2026
Personal Financemortgages
Mortgage rates today, July 23, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago
Hasbro’s growth strategy isn’t just about kids anymore—it’s about ‘kidults’
Healthchief executive officer (CEO)
Hasbro’s growth strategy isn’t just about kids anymore—it’s about ‘kidults’
By Phil WahbaJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
18 hours ago
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
3 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
2 days ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
2 days ago
Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
Economy
Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 22, 2026
16 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.