Small loans for a fair energy transition, at a cost that finally works
Brightwild is a not-for-profit, evergreen lender. We make patient, affordable loans of $50k–$250k to the SMEs rolling out renewable energy in the UK and Africa, and recycle the capital as it repays.
New forms of energy needs new forms of finance…
The shift
Energy is becoming something we build rather than something we burn: modular, distributed, and able to be owned and run locally. That potentially opens the door to a transition whose gains reach far more people. But the businesses that can deliver that tend to be small, and the finance they need is scarce, because underwriting a $100k loan has cost almost as much as a $5m one.
That constraint is falling away. We have built a platform that automates the work of lending, with people making the key decisions, and it is running live loans today.
Fair is smooth, smooth is fast
The transitions that leave people behind are brittle; opposition builds and progress stalls. SMEs deploy renewables faster than centralised systems and spread the benefit further. Finance them at the right scale and price and the transition reaches more people, sooner. With traditional forms of capital that does not happen.
A small fraction of energy generation has any kind of community benefit. Yet the distributive nature of renewables provides an excellent opportunity for communities to benefit. The revolution in energy technology also presents the opportunity for innovation to deliver wider benefits through new income or reduced costs.
We are already lending and already getting repaid.
85%
On time and no defaults.