Sandton-based Wetility has provided lease-to-own rooftop solar and battery storage solutions to South African households and businesses since 2019. The company’s One Bill, launched late last year, combines grid and solar electricity to streamline customer billing. Sanlam Investments, a Black-owned South African investment manager, completed its debt financing in Wetility to notch an exit of sorts. Sanlam had participated in Wetility’s 930 million rands ($48 million) Series A comprising equity and debt raise in 2023. Sanlam was part of a consortium of lenders including Metier Sustainable Capital II and the Industrial Development Corporation that provided 600 million rand.
Sanlam says it was attracted by the opportunity to “harness South Africa’s untapped youth” and upskill them for the fast-growing solar sector. Wetility landed 500 million rands last year from Johannesburg-based solar investor Jaltech. The South African media company MultiChoice had invested in Wetility in 2022, via the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, which confirmed Wetility had fully repaid the loan ahead of schedule.
Impact debt
Sanlam’s investment came from its 104+ SMME Growth and Empowerment Solutions program, a 240 million rand initiative using grants and loans to support Black-owned, youth and women-led small and growing businesses in South Africa as well as fund managers backing them. Nearly 70% of Wetility’s staff is under the age of 35, and almost half are women.
“By using impact-driven debt capital, Wetility has grown quickly while staying true to its values of affordability, local focus and inclusion,” said Sanlam’s Phuti Senyatsi. “The financing model shows that youth-led businesses are not just viable, but vital – especially when capital is designed to unlock, not constrain.”
