Translight Solar | Ghana

Translight Solar

Ghana

Location

Investment amount (USD$)

182466

Solar energy

Technology area

Scale-up

Business Type

On his return to Accra, after living and working for years in the US, Kobina Nyanteh could not believe how little solar energy had been embraced in the sun-filled Ghanaian city. It seemed clear what his next business would be, and thus Translight Solar was born with a mission to make affordable and reliable solar energy solutions more accessible.

Nyanteh said he wanted to remove the main barrier preventing households and businesses in Africa from migrating to solar energy – namely, finance. Translight Solar would become a provider of quality products made possible through innovative payment and monitoring systems. I signed up to PFAN and went through the competition with the mission of ensuring that by the time we are done with the training process, we would have the team that could develop investment-ready projects. Kobina Nyanteh, CEO and Founder, Translight Solar.

As part of the company’s offering, payment, tracking, battery protection and remote monitoring systems were developed to respond to market demand, allowing collaborating financial institutions to lend for the purchase of solar energy. “I got into PFAN and I realised the importance of project development and the need to make sure that when an investor looks at the project they can get all the numbers,” adding that the PFAN process taught him how to present Translight Solar with a clear definition, thoughtful milestones, a projected return on investment and a go-to-market strategy.

Nyanteh said the company learnt a lot about putting the project together, sourcing funding, setting up the financial projections and the financial modelling. He said it was through the PFAN process that they were able to properly launch the project itself. “We needed to show that the project itself is de-risked.” Working one-on-one with a coach, he said, allowed the team to ensure the project was investment-ready, simply waiting for an investor to step in.

Nyanteh considers the PFAN process as being an integral part of his company’s growth. “It is definitely not a destination; it’s a whole journey,” he said. And during that journey, his enthusiasm had also grown. “I now see the opportunities extending way beyond just the provision of solar energy. I’m still very excited; I’m still very pumped up!”

His PFAN Advisor helped with the refinement of the business model and supported the development of project documents such as the business plan and financial model.

“I got into PFAN and I realised the importance of project development and the need to make sure that when an investor looks at the project they can get all the numbers”

- Kobina Nyanteh, President of Translight Solar