Investment Overview

KawiSafi Ventures has invested $2 million in Orb Energy, with the capital ring‑fenced for Orb’s Africa business to accelerate commercial‑industrial (C&I) solar project delivery, expand the local team and deepen financing partnerships across East Africa.

Company Background

Orb Energy, founded in Bengaluru in 2006, is a vertically integrated solar company operating in India and Kenya and manufacturing solar panels in Bengaluru. Its Africa operations are headquartered in Nairobi. To date the company has installed close to 15 MW of rooftop solar for more than 60 C&I customers in Kenya and the wider East African region, serving sectors such as manufacturing, agro‑processing, healthcare and hospitality. Overall, Orb has installed over 400 MW of solar capacity and targets 1 GW of cumulative installations by 2030.

Purpose of the Funding

The $2 million equity, provided through KawiSafi Fund II, will be used to move projects from development and contracting into construction and commissioning, to grow the regional workforce and to strengthen partnerships with financiers that enable customers to acquire systems outright or through low‑up‑front‑capital financing structures.

KawiSafi Ventures Fund II

The investment comes from KawiSafi Ventures’ second fund, which builds on a $67 million clean‑energy fund launched in 2016. The second fund announced $90 million of approved capital in late 2025 and focuses on Africa’s climate economy, including energy transition, clean transportation and green productivity. Anchor investors include the Green Climate Fund and the Schmidt Family Foundation, with additional funding from the Quadrature Climate Foundation. KawiSafi is the for‑profit investment platform created by Acumen.

Statements

Amar Inamdar, Managing Director of KawiSafi Ventures, said the firm sees an opportunity to support Orb’s strong C&I solar business in Kenya and to mobilise additional capital for deployment. Damian Miller, Co‑founder and CEO of Orb Energy, expressed pride in the investment and reiterated the company’s ambition to expand its regional footprint, build its local team and increase partnerships with financiers to solarise more commercial and industrial establishments in Africa.

Contact

Media contact: Shalini D. S, Senior Manager – Digital Marketing, Orb Energy, Mobile: +91 7892920971.