Prime Highlights-
- dfcu Bank and Sawa Energy launch a programme financing solar and battery systems for Ugandan businesses.
- Clients can access clean power through 10 to 25 year leases with no upfront cost.
Key Facts-
- The programme addresses high energy costs, grid instability and diesel dependence among Ugandan businesses.
- Sawa Energy designs, builds and maintains each system, while dfcu identifies and approves qualifying clients.
Background-
Ugandan businesses now have a new way to switch to solar power without paying anything upfront. dfcu Bank and Sawa Energy have launched dfcu Go Green, Powered by Sawa Energy, a programme that finances on-site solar and battery systems for eligible clients.
Businesses can sign up for pay-for-consumption or fixed lease agreements running 10 to 25 years. That means they get clean power installed at their site while Sawa Energy covers the cost of building and running it.
The idea grew out of a common problem in Uganda: high energy bills, an unstable grid, and heavy dependence on diesel generators. dfcu brings its existing client relationships to the table, while Sawa Energy handles the financing, engineering and day-to-day operation of each system.
dfcu will first identify businesses that stand to benefit, then support the approval process. From there, Sawa Energy designs, builds, owns and maintains the system under a direct contract with the client.
Margaret Karume, dfcu’s Executive Director and Chief Credit Officer, said the arrangement takes pressure off business cash flow by removing the need for large infrastructure spending upfront.
Kate Kiiza, the bank’s Chief Corporate and Institutional Banking Officer, added that clients, especially in manufacturing, have long asked for ways to cut energy costs and run more efficiently.
Depending on a client’s needs, systems can be grid-tied, hybrid solar-plus-storage, or fully off-grid. Clients also get access to performance data they can use for sustainability reporting.
Samuel Kaufman, CEO of Sawa Energy, said the goal is to turn energy from a cost burden into something that actually supports business growth across East Africa.
