Oikocredit invests US$ 2 million in RDG Collective to support solar energy growth in Africa

Amersfoort, the Netherlands – Social impact investor Oikocredit has agreed a credit line of US$ 2 million for RDG Collective, a provider of pay-as-you-go off-grid solar solutions in Zambia, bringing access to electricity to underserved households.

With Oikocredit's support, RDG Collective will be able to offer an estimated 12,500 low-income Zambians both access to clean energy and a path to ownership of off-grid solar products that can be extended to fit users' growing energy needs. Access to renewable electricity and productive-use-of-energy (PUE) appliances will support households in improving their living standards, increasing their earning potential and achieving lives of greater dignity.

Since its inception, RDG Collective has pioneered and provided solar energy solutions for low-income communities. It has sold more than 20,000 energy devices to date, helping improve the lives of more than 100,000 people with clean energy access and providing more than 300 people with meaningful economic opportunities by employing them as agents.

Rune Dige, founder and CEO of RDG Collective, said: “We are enormously proud to be partnering with Oikocredit. Oikocredit’s experience and support will help scale RDG’s distribution of life-changing PUE appliances and solidify our position as Zambia’s premium off-grid solar distributor.”

Siebren Wilschut, Senior Investment Officer at Oikocredit, said: “We're very pleased to support RDG Collective in its expansion to provide greater access to clean energy across Zambia. And we're proud to partner with such an impactful enterprise, and to support it in achieving even more by helping low-income people become healthier, improve their livelihoods and be better connected.”

 About RDG Collective

RDG Collective was established in 2018 with the ambition to ‘Empower the Future’ by developing and distributing innovative solar home systems throughout Zambia, where an estimated 2.4 million households still lack access to electricity.

While the cost of solar energy remained prohibitively high for almost all off-grid households, RDG Collective came up with innovative products distributed on a pay-as-you-go basis. By eliminating this financial barrier, RDG has enabled an increasing number of Zambian households to access solar home systems, refrigerators, solar water pumps and smartphones to improve and empower their lives.

For more information, visit www.rdg-home.com.

About Oikocredit

Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has nearly five decades of experience funding organisations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy.

Oikocredit's loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably.

Oikocredit finances more than 500 partners, with total outstanding capital of € 981.1 million (at June 2023). For more information, visit www.oikocredit.coop.

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Note for editors

For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Viviana Cordero, Communications Business Partner, Oikocredit International, telephone: +31 33 422 4040, email: vcordero@oikocredit.org.

Rune Dige, CEO, RDG Collective, telephone: +45 2440 6667, +email: rune@rdg-home.com.