Social Issue

More than 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity. According to Greenlight Planet data, problems related to lack of supply are evident: children do not have enough daylight hours to study, and school dropout increases. When the night begins, people without lighting systems are forced to stop working, and alternative light points to the electricity grid, such as kerosene, are polluting and cause fires which can be catastrophic.

Our Response

Greenlight Planet is a for-profit social enterprise created and run by engineers. Its objective is to distribute and develop domestic solar-energy systems for people who do not have access to the electricity grid. Founded in 2009 by Patrick Walsh, Mayank Sekhsaria and Anish Thakkar, Greenlight Planet has become the world’s leading provider of products based on solar energy. It operates in 60 countries, providing coverage to 27 million consumers in rural areas.

Expected Social Impact

Greenlight Planet has so far distributed five and a half million units of solar energy based products. This means that more than 27 million people have been able to benefit from a safer and cheaper lighting system.

With this loan, Netri hopes to benefit more than 80,000 homes (more than 400,000 people), who will be able to enjoy higher quality, cheaper, and safer lighting in their homes.