Solarise Africa Secures €1M EEP Africa Grant to Expand into Uganda and Zambia

Nairobi — Pan-African commercial and industrial (C&I) solar provider Solarise Africa has secured a €1 million catalytic grant from the Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund (EEP Africa).

The company will match the grant with €1 million in corporate co-financing, establishing a €2 million, 24-month program aimed at expanding its decentralised renewable energy leasing operations into Uganda and Zambia.

Program Scope and Deployment Targets

Founded in 2018 by Chief Executive Officer Jan Albert Valk and Chief Operating Officer Sakkie van Wijk, Solarise Africa provides integrated energy solutions—combining custom engineering, asset financing, and operational monitoring—for commercial and industrial businesses and social institutions.

The €2 million capital pool will fund operational market entry and deployment of on-site clean energy assets:

• Capacity Target: Installation of 3MW of new generating capacity across corporate and institutional client sites in Uganda and Zambia.
• Technology Mix: Deployment of commercial solar PV, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and energy-efficient heat pump technologies.
• Performance Milestones: Contractual obligations under EEP Africa require verified delivery of at least 4.5 GWh of clean electricity generation and 3,600 tonnes of avoided CO₂ emissions over the program term.

“Businesses across the continent face the same fundamental challenge: they need energy that is more reliable, more affordable, and cleaner, but the capital and financing structures required to make that transition are not always readily available,” said Jan Albert Valk, Co-Founder and CEO of Solarise Africa. “This grant represents much more than entry into two new markets. It is an opportunity to demonstrate that a model we have spent years building and refining can be successfully replicated across Africa.”

Market Expansion Strategy and Sustainability

The entry into East and Southern African C&I markets comes as commercial enterprises seek relief from grid instability, rising electricity tariffs, and high diesel generation costs.

The grant serves as a risk-mitigation tool for market entry, designed to create self-sustaining corporate operations beyond the initial grant timeline.

“Our objective is to build commercially sustainable operations in Uganda and Zambia that can continue deploying energy infrastructure well beyond the grant period,” stated Sakkie van Wijk, Co-Founder and COO of Solarise Africa.

The grant award places in the top tier of catalytic energy finance rounds in the region, serving as a key market signal for asset-backed C&I solar replication across emerging African economies.

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