After 5 consecutive years of development, the rooftop photo voltaic market in India had a tough yr in 2019 with installations totaling 1.1 GW, which was a 33% decline year-over-year.

Now with the COVID-19 outbreak, we anticipate one other difficult yr for rooftop photo voltaic.

In keeping with a not too long ago launched Q1 Solar Funding and M&A Report by Mercom Capital Group,  world VC funding for the photo voltaic sector in Q1 2020 reached $145 million in 9 offers in comparison with $176 million raised in 13 offers in Q1 2019.

Even in these turbulent occasions, the Delhi-based MYSUN, a know-how platform for rooftop photo voltaic vitality options, raised ₹320 million (~$4.2 million) from its current traders not too long ago.

Mercom had an opportunity to work together with Gagan Vermani, Founder and CEO of MYSUN. Within the interview, amongst different issues, Vermani mentioned how know-how and financing could possibly be used to unlock the potential of small and medium scale enterprises within the nation.

Listed here are the excerpts from the interview:

Are you able to inform us extra about your latest pre-Collection A fundraise?

As part of our pre-Collection A spherical, now we have raised ₹320 million (~$4.2 million) from our current traders. This funding will assist us in ramping up our know-how platform and instruments in addition to enter new markets and newer enterprise fashions. After all, because the identify suggests, this can be a precursor to bigger funding spherical over the subsequent few quarters. We had accomplished a seed funding spherical of ₹187.7 million (~$2.5 million) initially once we began.

The rooftop market has been weak since final yr and is predicted to face extra challenges as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. How had been you in a position to increase funding on this setting?

The funding discussions had been occurring for just a few months, and the closure occurred throughout this pandemic interval. The closure exhibits the belief of our traders in our enterprise mannequin in addition to in our group. It’s an affidavit to our thought to make use of know-how and financing to unlock the massively underserved small and medium enterprises and the person residence marketplace for photo voltaic.

Are you able to clarify MYSUN’s enterprise mannequin?

Our total goal is to make the tip client’s relationship with photo voltaic straightforward and dependable, whether or not it’s a B2B (like business, establishments, or industrial institutions) or a B2C (properties, city and rural customers) consumer. Due to this fact, the corporate makes use of world-class engineering and tools, world protected set up practices, and an elaborate service community to supply a hassle-free 25-year lengthy photo voltaic journey to its purchasers. We plan to redefine the way in which photo voltaic vitality is purchased and bought within the nation.

What makes MYSUN’s enterprise mannequin compelling in comparison with your rivals?

MYSUN’s enterprise mannequin is properly positioned to leverage the rising demand within the renewable vitality area. We’re dedicated to the imaginative and prescient to make photo voltaic vitality entry straightforward and dependable for customers throughout the nation, and the usage of know-how because the spine of our enterprise pushes the envelope within the photo voltaic area, and to interrupt into the untapped client segments of SMEs and houses. Because the vitality panorama, in addition to the general financial panorama, are altering quickly as a result of latest world occasions, we foresee the necessity for extra distinctive and customizable photo voltaic options, throughout the B2B and B2C client segments round the globe over the subsequent a few years.

What are your plans for future fundraising?

We’re already engaged on plans to take our know-how platform and proprietary instruments to different international locations within the Center East, Asia Pacific, and Africa, making MYSUN a world rooftop photo voltaic know-how firm that permits tens of millions to undertake photo voltaic. Our focus shall be to proceed to scale up the know-how, buyer acquisition, and financing. We need to increase ₹2.5 billion (~$33.28 million) over the subsequent few quarters.

As per the newly launched – India Solar Market Leaderboard 2020 – on the finish of 2019, cumulative rooftop photo voltaic installations in India reached 4,365 MW, making up 10.9% of the nation’s rooftop photo voltaic goal of 40 GW by 2022. The highest ten rooftop photo voltaic installers represented 43% of the market share in 2019.

Gagan Vermani will even be talking in Mercom’s webinar about superior PV applied sciences being the answer to future-proof rooftop photo voltaic funding. You possibly can click on here to register.

Anjana is a information editor at Mercom India. Earlier than becoming a member of Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Occasions of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Earlier than that, she labored on the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and information editor. She has additionally contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Occasions, The New Indian Categorical, Reader’s Digest (UK version), IndiaSe (Singapore-based journal) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Grasp’s diploma in Geography from North Bengal College, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas College, Bhopal.