B2C rooftop solar startup SolarSquare raised Rs 100 crore in a Series A fund round to propel its new growth plans which embed solar rooftops financing services.
The young company which offers consumers the ability to install and manage rooftop solar systems, intends to use the fresh round of capital to improve its embedded solar financing offering by obtaining an NBFC licence soon. Through its NBFC partners, it currently provides quick loans for solar rooftops.
“We plan to start the application process in the coming months. Having our own NBFC will allow us to offer point-of-sale long-term loans to consumer, which would make the product more affordable and economical. Short-term EMIs for solar rooftop projects turn out to be expensive, and hence, we aim to innovate on the same,” co-founder of SolarSquare Shreya Mishra stated.
SolarSquare claims to be the IKEA of Solar Products
“Its like IKEA. The set up is completely modular and standardised. There is no separate requirement for different roofs. The design takes place at our in-house facility and the assembly happens at the roofs. We have managed to reduce the whole project installation timing from typical three-five days to maximum eight hours,” the co-founder said.
The startup currently operates in six markets, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. In the ensuing 18 to 24 months, it also plans to launch two apps for consumers and businesses (installation and sales partners), respectively, to track solar electricity generation.
Neeraj Jain, Shreya Mishra, and former Panasonic executive Nikhil Nahar founded SolarSquare in 2015 with the intention of providing commercial rooftop solar solutions. SolarSquare was bootstrapped till 2020. Later, the business made the decision to shift into the consumer home solar segment (B2C), and in September 2020, it completed its first installation.
The startup purchases rooftop solar panels and inverters from outside vendors, develops them in-house, instals them in accordance with customer needs, and provides after-sales support.
The firm raised its initial round of Rs 30 crore led by Good Financial five months prior to the startup’s most recent capital injection
The funding round led by Elevation Capital and previous backer Lowercarbon, the climate-tech venture of US-based Chris Sacca. Other current investors took part in the round as well, including Good Capital, Rainmatter, and the angels Vidit Atrey and Sanjeev Barnwal (Meesho). Five months after the business raised its seed round of Rs 30 crore sponsored by Good Financial, it received its most recent capital infusion.
