Solar Ladder, a supply chain platform for solar installation companies, on Wednesday announced it has raised ₹11 crore in seed funding from Axilor Ventures, Titan Capital, DeVC and Stride Ventures.
The round also saw participation from angels such as Atha Group, NIPHA group, Varun Alagh (Founder, Mamaearth), Subin Mitra and Aditya Bandi of Groyyo, Deepak Jain (Partner, Bain and Co.) among others.
The fund will be utilised to distribute software that automates processes for solar installers, allowing them to expand their business tenfold.
Robust marketplace
Solar Ladder aims to establish a robust marketplace that enables cheaper procurement, provides short-term embedded credit and insurance products to meet installers’ working capital requirements, and offers long-term financing options for end customers of solar installers.
Manan Mehta, Co-Founder, Solar Ladder, said, “India’s per capita electricity consumption is significantly lower than the global average, and rooftop solar energy is the most cost-effective means of generating electricity. By adopting rooftop solar energy India has a unique chance to decentralise its power supply and enhance the quality of life for all citizens.”
The key to seizing this opportunity lies with the solar installers striving to implement rooftop solar on a large scale. Solar Ladder aims to facilitate faster scaling for these installers by providing them with appropriate financial, procurement, and software tools, he added.
Services offered
Its suite of services includes SaaS, procurement, financing, and other value-added services. The Solar Ladder SaaS tool provides end-to-end, sales-to-project management to operations and maintenance resources to solar installation companies looking to grow their business, while its procurement layer assists with the acquisition of solar modules, inverters, structures, the balance of system, and other necessary materials.
The financing layer offers both short-term and long-term loans, with short-term loans available for credit on platform purchases and long-term financing available for end customers, enabling solar installers to increase their sales. The company currently has over 250 customers, including major players such as Mahindra Solarize and Fourth Partner Energy.