Dear valued stakeholder,
WELCOME TO THE NEW US
Notice anything new? Yes, that’s right, Husk has a new visual brand identity. Our business has evolved significantly in the 15 years since we founded the company and created the community minigrid category. So it was time for our brand to reflect that progress while also looking boldly toward the future. We’re very excited about the vibrant, digitally-inspired new look (see below for more on that).
After becoming the first minigrid company to announce corporate profitability in Q4 2022, we continued to notch up new industry milestones in Q1 2023. We became the first developer operating in Asia and Africa to surpass 200 minigrids. In addition, Husk achieved a record rate of deployment – 16 minigrids per month. Husk also secured its first debt financing for Nigeria, adding to the $10.3 million in debt raised in 2022.
Demonstrating our desire to make an even greater impact in Sub-Saharan Africa and recognizing that our scale now warrants more direct engagement with governments, we made a major announcement at the UN summit for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), issuing an invitation for public-private partnership (PPP) to fast-track scaling minigrids in the region. We’ve already in conversations with multiple governments.
Meanwhile, Husk was recognized as a Global Cleantech 100 winner (for the third time), and was given a Real Leaders Impact Award, one of 300 companies recognized for solving existential problems through innovative and sustainable market-based solutions.
Manoj Sinha, Co-Founder & CEO
As outlined in our Scaling Solar Hybrid Minigrids: An Industry Roadmap published last year, scale and rate of deployment are perhaps “the most daunting challenges” for the minigrid industry. So it was a major achievement for Husk and the industry to announce in Q1 2023 that we now own and operate more than 200 minigrids, the largest fleet across Asia and Africa. Even more important, the company registered a previously unseen rate of deployment, rolling out 16 minigrids in one month in India. In other words, Husk built more minigrids in one month than most companies in the industry have built in their entire history. Husk’s speed of deployment is the result of achieving efficiencies across multiple aspects of its business: site scoring and selection, land leasing and permitting, supply chain management, logistics and warehousing, construction and digital automation. The company is now working to achieve the same rate of deployment in Africa. With 200 minigrids under our belt, we have more confidence than ever to achieve our 2030 goal of 5,000 minigrids.
FINANCIAL OUTLOOK
Corporate reputation has a large influence on a company’s value – for customers, investors, governments and employees. With Husk now in full-on growth mode, positioning the brand for its next phase of growth is a top priority. It’s why we hired a Chief Marketing Officer in 2021, and it’s why we just refreshed our brand’s visual identity. Husk’s business model is very different from when it was founded in 2008. We’re no longer only a pureplay minigrid developer, but a digitally-enabled platform that addresses all aspects of the rural energy economy: electricity provision, appliance sales and financing, energy services for productive use applications in agriculture and transportation, and rural C&I. As you’ll see, the new look and feel of Husk is inspired by the concept of creating building blocks for prosperity, coupled with a digitally-inspired momentum that has a clear end point in mind. The fresh colors speak to the diversity and richness of the Husk business, and communicate a brand personality that is fearless, vibrant, optimistic and smart.
Of course, capital is also a key to growth, and Husk continued to bring in new debt, signing a deal for $750,000 with DEG, Germany’s development finance institution
INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
Husk's CMO at the United Nations Conference on the LDCs (LDC5)
Building on our 2022 UN Energy Compact in which we committed to build at least 5,000 minigrids by the end of the decade, Husk continued to increase its ambition for achieving greater impact in Sub-Saharan Africa. Speaking at the once-in-a-decade United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), Husk issued an invitation to LDC governments to partner in scaling minigrids. For its part, Husk proposed a list of initial criteria for the PPP, and committed to mobilizing the financing to build 200 minigrids in one country (or multiple countries) if provided a concession. Our commitment was included in the official readout from the LDC5 Private Sector Forum. Since the event, Husk has engaged directly with a number of governments and intergovernmental agencies, and continues to welcome inquiries. Feel free to contact us at marketing@huskpowersytems.com with the subject line: “PPP” if you’re interested in learning more.
Watch the full announcement on our YouTube channel.
IN THE NEWS
Below are a few highlights of recent Husk media coverage and awards:
For the third time, Husk was named a Global Cleantech 100 innovation leader.
Husk also won a Real Leader Impact Award for its breakthrough work in the energy industry.
AI for the Planet named Husk one of the top 10 companies using AI to make a meaningful difference on climate.
PV Tech spotlighted the importance of Husk achieving profitability.
Husk chairman Brad Mattson outlined the need for an industry roadmap to scale minigrids in NextBillion, and hosted an expert dialogue with AfDB, AMDA and the African School of Regulation.
