Dear valued stakeholder,
Husk team with new local currency debt provider UCIF at the Africa Climate Summit
Husk is doing ground-breaking work to scale agricultural processing in the Global South with solar power, and in the process increasing farmer incomes while decreasing polluting, expensive diesel generation.
Meanwhile, in Q3 2025, at the second Africa Climate Summit, Husk and United Capital Infrastructure Fund (UCIF) announced the largest-ever local currency debt deal in the minigrid industry.
Husk also joined 17 African heads of state and government in New York to mark the launch of new national energy compacts under the Mission 300 (”M300”) initiative, and -- for the first time -- articulated a much more ambitious target for the company in Africa.
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Manoj Sinha, Co-Founder & CEO
MARKET FOCUS
Solar-powered agri-processing is scaling across India and Nigeria
Many of our customers are heavily dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Husk has installed thousands of solar irrigation pumps (replacing diesel generation), but that is just a start. Since 2021, Husk has invested in new solar-powered agriculture business models. The goal: increase farmer incomes and increase demand on our solar minigrids during peak hours. A win-win that turns under-utilized electricity into economic productivity.
Fast forward to today: Husk has agri-processing operations in both India and Nigeria, solving for post-harvest loss, value addition and market access. The first pilots focused on wheat and rice, and validated the model—delivering clean, chemical-free food, creating local jobs, and ensuring fair prices for farmers.
Today in India, Husk has over 15 operational plants producing 50 tonnes of wheat per month, and proven impact: minigrid utilization up 18–22%, and farmer incomes have risen by 20–25%. Our goal is to have more than 100 plants in India by 2027. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, our rice milling facility supports over 50 women farmers with monthly output peaking at 15 tonnes, with planned expansion into multi-crop processing.
Husk is already testing cold storage, and future verticals include oil extraction and food packaging hubs, transforming minigrids into multi-product rural industrial clusters. With climate-resilient agriculture and clean energy at the core, Husk is not just an energy solution—it is the blueprint for decentralized rural economies in the Global South.
FINANCIAL OUTLOOK
In Q3 2025, Husk secured its first local currency debt in Africa, closing a deal with United Capital Infrastructure Fund (UCIF). Announced on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, the deal represented the largest-ever local currency debt deal in Africa's community solar minigrid industry. It was also the first local debt deal to introduce an innovative revolving mechanism, which will allow Husk to draw down on the capital two to three times during the 10-year loan period, for a total of ₦10-15 billion Naira (roughly $7-10 million USD). With hard currency debt a significant risk amid recent Naira volatility, the absence of local currency lending has been a major bottleneck to accelerated growth of Africa's minigrid industry. With its first investment in renewable energy, UCIF is catalyzing the delivery of electricity to the 90 million Nigerians still living without power.
Uchenna Mkparu, UCIF’s Chief Investment Officer, said: “This transaction underscores our commitment to advancing Nigeria’s renewable energy sector and expanding access to clean, reliable power. By providing affordable, long-term local currency debt to a market leader like Husk, UCIF is creating impact by enabling scalable, sustainable energy access for households, SMEs, smallholder farmers, and underserved communities across Nigeria. It is our goal to replicate this novel facility structure to deliver up to 100MW of clean power by 2030.”
INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
Husk CEO Manoj Sinha talks Mission 300 @ NY Climate Week
Husk CEO Manoj Sinha represented the private sector at a high-level Mission 300 event during the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum. Convened on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and NY Climate Week, the event brought together heads of state and government from 17 Sub-Saharan African countries, who all committed to support M300’s goal of electrifying 300 million people by 2030. Sinha said: “Mission 300 is accelerating the process of electrifying hundreds of millions of people across Africa.” In support of that goal, he announced that Husk was increasing its ambitions in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a target of deploying at least 1GW of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the continent by 2030. Watch the full panel discussion.
IN THE NEWS
Below are highlights of Husk's recent media coverage:
CEO Manoj Sinha addressed a high-level Mission 300 event during NY Climate Week
Channels TV covers the Husk-UCIF local currency debt deal
Financial Express highlights growth plans in India for our BEEM residential solar business
Husk is bridging the India-Africa energy divide. Read more in this Hindu Businessline article
CMO William Brent discusses Husk’s activities in Africa during Unstoppable Africa 2025
