Switzerland-headquartered clean energy powerhouse Candi Solar has clinched a landmark $58.5 million syndicated debt funding round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Announced on November 28, 2025, this infusion—Candi’s largest to date—propels the company’s total capital raised beyond $200 million, underscoring its pivotal role in bridging the green energy gap for commercial and industrial (C&I) clients across emerging markets.
Founded in 2018 by Nishant Sood, Fabio Eucalipto, and Philippe Flamand, Candi Solar operates as a full-stack distributed energy platform. It finances, builds, and manages bespoke solar installations, including rooftop systems and open-access projects, tailored to the unique needs of businesses in power-hungry sectors like manufacturing, retail, and hospitality. The company’s performance-linked model ties revenue to actual energy output, ensuring long-term accountability and reliability—key differentiators in a market rife with execution risks.
The funding couldn’t come at a more opportune moment. India’s solar sector is exploding, with C&I distributed solar capacity projected to hit 10 GW by 2027, fueled by falling module prices, favorable policies like the Green Energy Open Access Rules, and escalating energy costs amid grid volatility. In South Africa, persistent load-shedding and rising electricity tariffs have made solar a no-brainer for cost-conscious corporates. Candi’s portfolio has more than doubled to over 220 MWp in just 18 months, boasting 85 MWp of open-access projects in India alone. Flagship installations include a 16.5 MW project in Gujarat and a 20 MW setup in Chhattisgarh, powering giants like auto components maker Pricol, Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills, and global flavors leader IFF. Across the border, Candi illuminates Ngwenya Lodge, Kings Park Stadium HQ (home to The Sharks rugby team), Toyota, and Pick n Pay, proving its cross-border prowess.
Breaking down the IFC tranche: It includes $6.5 million from the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Platform for catalytic impact, up to $42 million from IFC’s own account (in rands, rupees, and dollars, partially via the Managed Co-lending Portfolio Program), and a concessional $10 million loan in local currencies from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund. This multi-currency, blended structure absorbs early-stage risks while enforcing rigorous ESG and governance benchmarks, making it a blueprint for de-risking green investments in the Global South.
“This is the largest funding facility we’ve ever closed,” beamed Bruno Rauis, Director of Candi Solar. “It propels us into our next growth phase and strengthens our ambition to be the leading distributed energy partner in India, South Africa, and beyond. IFC’s involvement is catalytic—it builds confidence among global investors and enables us to access larger pools of capital to scale faster.”
Echoing the sentiment, Nishant Sood, Managing Director, hailed it as an “inflection point for Candi Solar in India.” He emphasized how the deal empowers faster rollout of distributed projects, delivering hefty energy savings for clients while advancing India’s net-zero ambitions. “IFC’s trust is a strong endorsement of our model, which has placed us among India’s leading distributed solar developers, and reflects the increasing depth and significance of the sector in a rapidly expanding market.”
The proceeds will directly bankroll nearly 200 MWp of fresh projects, pushing Candi’s contracted pipeline past 400 MWp. This includes expanding into storage-integrated solutions to tackle intermittency, deepening penetration in industrial clusters like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, and forging more public-private tie-ups. Beyond megawatts, the impact ripples wider: slashing emissions by millions of tons annually, bolstering grid resilience against blackouts, creating thousands of green jobs in local supply chains, and democratizing affordable clean power for SMEs squeezed by fossil fuel hikes.
In a competitive arena dominated by peers like CleanMax, Amplus Solar, Fourth Partner Energy, and Tata Power Solar, Candi’s IFC nod signals maturity. It follows a $38 million equity raise from Norfund, Kyuden International, and STOA in June 2025, which funded 200 MW of C&I projects. As global climate finance pours in—IFC alone committed $50 billion to renewables by 2030—Candi exemplifies how blended finance can turbocharge decentralized solar, turning emerging markets from energy importers to exporters of innovation.
For businesses worldwide, this isn’t just funding; it’s a solar supernova, illuminating pathways to sustainability without the shadows of unreliability. As Candi scales, expect more rooftops to gleam under the sun, one MW at a time.
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Last Updated on: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 7:15 pm by Economic Edge Team | Published by: Economic Edge Team on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 7:15 pm | News Categories: Startup
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