(Ecofin Agency) - Social Investment Managers & Advisors (SIMA), a fund management and investment consulting firm which operates in Kenya, Pakistan, Switzerland, and the United States, mobilized $90 million via its Sima Fund 1 that focuses on solar energy projects. The resources will be allocated to companies that design and distribute solar solutions in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The fundraising saw the participation of about thirty investors including development agencies in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria. Sima Fund 1 has supported nearly 26 off-grid solution providers in about 15 developing countries since it was launched in 2017.

According to a February 2020 report entitled "2020 Off-Grid Solar Market Trends" published by the World Bank Group in partnership with Gogla, a global off-grid solar industry association, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific are the two regions in the world with the largest energy deficit. In these two regions, nearly 716 million people are without access to electricity and more than 1 billion people have unreliable energy grids.

Chamberline MOKO