Azuri Technologies has closed a $5 million financing facility with Standard Chartered Bank to support renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa.

The facility will enable the manufacture of Cambridge, UK-based Azuri’s PayGo solar home systems for deployment in sub-Saharan Africa, where 600 million people live without access to a reliable power grid. The system allows users to pay for solar power on a pay-as-you-go basis, simply using their mobile phones.

Simon Bransfield-Garth, chief executive of Azuri, said, “As the PayGo industry matures, access to innovative debt finance mechanisms becomes an increasingly important part of being able to deliver continued market growth. We are delighted to have partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to deliver this innovative facility.”

Sean Hanafin, head of Corporate Coverage, UK & European Sectors at Standard Chartered, said, “This facility is aligned with our ‘banking the ecosystem’ strategy, deploying innovative solutions to finance clients’ ecosystems of international suppliers, distributors and customers, driving global trade and commerce.”

The revolving fund will support sustainable renewable energy access in sub-Saharan African countries and will help Azuri to leverage new and existing opportunities to accelerate its growth.