The lack of resources at the beginning of his venture and the commitment to a business that promoted sustainability led Mauricio de Mucha to unite two growing segments: crowdfunding and renewable energies. This is how RedGirasol was born, the first green venture in Mexico that combines solar energy with collective financing to help combat climate change.
De Mucha, co-founder with Ana Luisa Montaño and CEO of the startup, investigated the market and found that this scheme was already being implemented in the United States and Europe to finance solar panel projects. “It has been an extremely challenging job, since we started before the Fintech Law [the company started operations in 2016]. There is a challenge to be overcome in confidence by the investing public. It’s something we’ve been gaining over the years, ”he says.
The collective financing model allows RedGirasol to connect people and companies that want to install solar panels with those that seek to invest in clean energy projects. “We are a crowdfunding unique in our class and we have a guarantee, which is the solar system, with a life time of up to 25 years,” says the entrepreneur.
The scheme is similar to that of other projects, with the difference of who puts the money. Thus, the installers from the platform generate a payment plan and offer financing to their clients, through a credit application. RedGirasol verifies the technical and economic feasibility of the project, as well as the client’s profile and, if approved, opens up to investment. Dozens of people can participate by contributing capital for a project.
De Mucha, a graduate of the first generation of Sustainable Development Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, points out that this system allows any Mexican family or business to have access to solar panels to reduce their light consumption, through a distributed solar energy scheme. , that is to say, facilities interconnected to the electrical network where a user generates clean electrical energy to consume it in their property.
According to the businessman, no more than 10% of the clients of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) can access a solar system for their home or business. That leaves out the 90% of customers who cannot benefit from solar energy directly. And it is the market that entrepreneurship can reach. De Mucha says that more than half of the solar panel projects require some type of financing in Mexico.
RedGirasol, which is part of the Association of Collective Funding Platforms, is in the process of obtaining authorization from the National Banking and Securities Commission to operate as a Collective Financing Institution. Currently, it can operate under the protection of the eighth transitory article of the Fintech Law, since it already offered its services prior to the enactment of the law that regulates the fintech companies that offer this service.
The startup has more than 12,000 investors, mainly from Mexico, since 99% are national. The average financing per project is 220,000 pesos with an annual rate of 16% and a term of five years. While the average number of investors per project is 300 and its record was 850 people in one of them. With this, the company has achieved more than 500 solar panel installations in 29 states of the Republic and more than 200 verified installers.
RedGirasol’s income model is based on factors such as the charge of 2% of the invoice for opening the applicant and a charge of 2% to the investors of the charges made.
In these almost five years it has reached 85 million pesos in funding and the plan is to close 2021 with 100 million pesos. The goal for 2025 is 1,000 million accumulated funded pesos. The bet is strong, but De Mucha hopes to achieve it as the Fintech Law advances.
“The important growth in the following years is derived from the Fintech Law. There are 25 companies in the authorization process under the collective funding model, ”he points out, turning it into electricity, and who has worked with RedGirasol.
Democratize solar financing
RedGirasol works with three users: investors, applicants and a third player who are the installers. On the platform, any national installer can register and offer the RedGirasol credit to their clients and close sales. In fact, 95% of the funded projects come from the suppliers themselves, while the remaining 5% look to the company directly.
“Being an unbanked financial institution and more than anything a fintech, we have hung on to technology to be more inclusive. One of the broadest sectors for solar energy is small businesses, which are typically informal and not bankable, ”adds De Mucha.
For Duhart, one of the advantages of the RedGirasol system is precisely the network of investors it generates. “It is important because Mexicans help other Mexicans to have solar energy and, in the end, everyone does a good business. We believe that it is a very good model, which further democratizes energy for all Mexicans ”, adds the businessman.
Duhart points out that, currently, regulatory changes do not affect distributed generation. “The current government has attacked large renewable generation plants, but not distributed generation, which is also renewable generation. The law has no impact and there must be every confidence to generate your own energy ”, says the entrepreneur.
