Okra is a plug-and-play smart grid technology provider focused on bringing clean energy to last-mile communities that allows the interconnection between households based on the sharing of energy produced. Read more
In Cambodia, about half of the population lives without access to the electricity grid. These low-income people are the most vulnerable to adverse economic changes and stand to gain the most from a reliable energy source.
Having won a grant from the SNV Innovations Against Poverty fund to deploy their technology to approximately 1,000 households in Cambodia, Okra requested the support of Kiva to cover the upfront costs associated with the electrification of 250 households. Acting as a Kiva Field Partner, Nexus was able to help Okra successfully raise USD 50k from the Kiva platform in just 3-days, proving the interest from Kiva investors in projects targeting both clean energy and underserved communities.
By the end of 2019, Okra had already electrified 149 households reflecting a 12,421 kWh of electricity generated, associated with approximately 2 liters of diesel saved or 5.4 kg of CO2 avoided per kWh generated.
Having access to debt finance through Nexus has been great in helping Okra continue to scale it’s operations in Cambodia enabling us to energise more off-grid households with our smart grid software. The Nexus team has been very helpful throughout the process and continues to support us by finding ways they can support Okra as we continue to scale globally.
Okra team
This Okra’s first loan also helps the company establishing a credit history which improves its ability to access future financing. Read more
About Kiva
Kiva is the world’s most popular crowdfunding platform with a mission to alleviate poverty by connecting people through lending. Nexus for Development is a Field Partner of Kiva meaning we are able to raise loans for social enterprises on Kiva’s platform that would have otherwise been ineligible for a listing, usually due to restricted geography. As a Field Partner, Nexus is also able to raise loans up to USD50K when direct listings are usually limited to USD10K.
For more information please contact: contact@nexusfordevelopment.org