Support Dayspring Ventures in the distribution of solar lighting systems for 1,000 households in Kenya - for clean energy, better living conditions and an annual saving of around 457 tonnes of CO₂.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Project intention
The Kenyan company Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring) has been committed to expanding renewable energy in rural and peri-urban regions since 2013 — with a particular focus on promoting women and youth. The current project aims to reach households that previously did not have access to the public power grid.
Social & Environmental Impact
Access to reliable solar energy strengthens the economic participation of low-income households in rural areas. The use of electric lighting extends study and working hours, which improves both educational and income prospects. At the same time, new employment opportunities are created locally – particularly through the targeted involvement of women in the process of sales, installation, and maintenance of the systems. Households reduce their dependence on expensive and price-volatile fuels and gain economic resilience.
Climate protection
Through the crowdfunding project, a total of 1,000 kerosene lamps will be replaced with solar lighting, resulting in annual savings of approximately 456 tons of CO₂.
Early-Bird-Bonus
All investors who invest up to and including 06.08.2025 will receive an Early-Bird-Bonus of 0.5% p.a. This increases the interest rate from 7.0% to a total of 7.5% p.a.
Established, sustainable company
Dayspring Ventures Limited is a Kenyan company that has been active since 2013 in the fields of renewable energy, clean cooking technologies, solar-powered water infrastructure, and agriculture. It primarily targets women and youth in underserved rural and peri-urban areas to improve living conditions and combat poverty. Dayspring offers solar systems, efficient cookstoves, biogas units, and irrigation solutions, which are made accessible to low-income households through flexible financing models such as the PAYGO system. The company has already provided sustainable energy to over 200,000 households as well as numerous businesses and schools, creating thousands of jobs and reducing CO₂ emissions. With a dynamic team of experts, Dayspring aims to increase its revenue by 30% within the next three (3) years and expand its impact across all 47 counties of Kenya, thereby enabling even more people the access of better living conditions.
Risk reduction measures
For the crowdfunding campaigns on bettervest, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD was established in Kenya, which acts as the borrower for this project. It forwards the raised capital as a secured loan to the project owner in Kenya, Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring). The shareholders and directors of BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD are independent of Dayspring.
Additionally, the following securities are provided as collateral for the loan forwarded by the special purpose vehicle to the project owner:
Pledging of assets:
A new borehole drilling machine with a total value of €489,000 will be pledged in favor of BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD. If Dayspring fails to repay the loan, these assets can be seized and liquidated.
Project description
Kenya, a country with over 50 million inhabitants, is one of East Africa’s most dynamic nations and holds promising potential. With its year-round sunshine, Kenya is predestined for the utilisation of solar energy. Yet for millions of families, each evening still ends in darkness.
Especially in rural areas, stable access to electricity remains scarce. Estimates suggest that six out of ten households are not connected to the national power grid. This lack of access hinders not only economic development, but also affects water supply, education, healthcare, and other essential infrastructure services.
It is in this context that Dayspring takes action. The Kenyan company Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring) has been committed to expanding renewable energy in rural and peri-urban regions since 2013 — with a particular focus on promoting women and youth. The current project aims to reach households that previously did not have access to the public power grid.
With the loan, solar lighting kits — consisting of small to medium-sized solar panels (100–200W), batteries, inverters, and LED lamps — will be procured and provided as complete solutions. These systems enable reliable and clean electricity supply on site — primarily for lighting — and replace harmful energy sources such as kerosene lamps. In doing so, the project serves as an important contribution to poverty reduction, improved quality of life, and climate protection.
The project of Dayspring Ventures Limited actively contributes to five of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
SDG 1 (No Poverty): By providing a cost-free and sustainable energy source, solar lighting kits help households reduce spending on expensive and harmful fuels such as kerosene and candles. This eases the financial burden on low-income families and supports their efforts to escape poverty.
SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The systems replace kerosene lamps, whose fossil-based emissions are known to cause respiratory illnesses, particularly in children and the elderly. The use of solar energy improves indoor air quality and protects the health of families.
SDG 4 (Quality Education): Solar lighting kits give children and young people more time to study in the evenings under safe and reliable lighting, without incurring running costs. This enhances educational opportunities and creates better long-term learning conditions.
SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy): Kenya benefits from year-round solar radiation. The solar lighting systems harness this free and clean energy source to deliver reliable and affordable electricity, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
SDG 13 (Climate Action): By replacing kerosene lamps and candles, the solar lighting kits significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and actively contribute to global climate protection.
The replacement of kerosene lamps with solar lighting solutions not only contributes significantly to the health of users, but also to global climate protection. Burning one liter of kerosene produces approximately 2.5 kg of CO₂. By replacing 1,000 kerosene lamps, around 500 liters of kerosene can be saved per day – which corresponds to approximately 1.25 tons of CO₂ daily.
Extrapolated over one year, this results in an annual CO₂ savings of around 456 tons. Over the planned three-year project period, a total of approximately 1,370 tons of CO₂ can be avoided. The project thus clearly demonstrates how decentralized solar solutions offer a sustainable and climate-friendly alternative to fossil energy sources in rural areas.
The investment risks associated with the subordinated loan are described in detail in the risk information. In order to assess and mitigate the risks for investors, the issuer highlights the following structural aspects of the project:
Use of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV):
For bettervest’s crowdfunding campaigns, a special purpose vehicle named BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD, based in Kenya, has been established and acts as the borrower in this project. It forwards the raised capital as a secured loan to the project owner in Kenya, Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring). The shareholders and directors of BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD are independent of Dayspring. The Kenya-based SPV may act as borrower for multiple projects. However, this does not affect the contracts or risk assessment compared to a German SPV
Pledging of assets: A brandnew borehole drilling machine with a total value of €489,000 will be pledged in favor of BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD. If Dayspring fails to repay the loan, these assets can be seized and liquidated
Investment Requirement
The loan of €99,950 will be used to finance the purchase of solar lighting kits, which include small to medium-sized solar panels (100–200W), batteries, inverters, and LED lamps. These systems will be provided as complete off-grid solutions to households currently without access to the public electricity grid.
The loan has a term of 5 years and offers an annual interest rate of 7.0% p.a. for crowd investors. Investors who commit funds within the first four weeks of the campaign will also receive an early-bird bonus of 0.5% p.a., resulting in a total return of 7.5% p.a.. The funding threshold for this project is €50,000. If the funding goal is not fully reached but at least the threshold is met, the project owner will still use the funds to purchase a reduced number of solar lighting kits.
Repayment
The loan will be repaid from the liquid revenues generated by Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring) in the course of its business activities from revenue generated from the sale of Dayspring products.
Repayments to investors will be made on a quarterly basis.
The first year of the term is a grace period, during which only interest payments will be made. From the second year onward, investors will receive interest plus principal repayments.
Africa is endowed with an abundant supply of solar energy throughout the year. Unfortunately, this energy remains largely untapped. We see this as a great opportunity to plug in and change this narrative forever.
A partnership with like minded organization such as bettervest will help us realize this dream within a shorter period of time. As we do this together, financial returns are sure."
George W. Ndege
Borrower and Country Profile
BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD (haftungsbeschränkt)
P.O BOX 2087
SARIT CENTRE
Nairobi Westland District
Kenya
Dayspring Ventures Limited
Dayspring House, Ground Floor
Nanyuki Main Highway
P.O Box 1863-10400
Nanyuki
Kontakt
https://dayspringk.com/ +254 729 300 500
info@dayspringk.com
BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD: Issuer and Borrower
The special purpose vehicle (SPV) BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD is based in Kenya and serves as the issuer and borrower for this project. The role of this SPV is to forward the funds raised from crowd investors as a project loan to the local project owner, Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring). The shareholders and directors of BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD are independent of the project owner.
Unlike a German SPV, the Kenya-based SPV may act as borrower for multiple projects. However, this has no impact on the contractual structure or risk assessment, which remains equivalent to that of a German SPV.
Dayspring Ventures Limited: Project owner
Dayspring Ventures Limited (Dayspring) is a Kenyan company headquartered in Nanyuki with an additional office in Nakuru. Founded in 2013, the company offers integrated solutions in the areas of renewable energy, clean cooking technologies, solar-powered water infrastructure and agribusiness along the entire value chain. Dayspring’s goal is to provide affordable, clean energy to underserved populations, improve poor living conditions and contribute to poverty alleviation. In the past, the main beneficiaries have been women and young people, mostly living in underserved rural, peri-urban and informal settlements.
Dayspring develops and distributes a wide range of products, including solar lighting systems, solar-powered pumps, mini-grid power generators, energy-efficient cooking stoves, biogas plants and solutions for solar irrigation and water access. Dayspring combines these technologies with modern financing models such as the remote monitoring and PAYGO system, which enables even low-income households to purchase products from Dayspring by paying small amounts in installments.
The company has equipped over 200,000 households, 10,000 businesses and 5,000 schools with solar systems, distributed over 250,000 clean cooking stoves and 3,700 biogas systems and supported 50,000 farmers with sustainable irrigation systems. These measures have directly and indirectly created over 150,000 jobs, saved around 5,600 tons of CO₂ annually and effectively combated poverty in rural regions. The company combines technological innovation with social impact, making a significant contribution to sustainable development in Kenya.
Dayspring has a solid track record of economic development, with a turnover of 2.3 million euros in 2024. Through continuous innovation and a highly competitive team of technical, agricultural and energy experts, Dayspring Ventures Limited is aiming for 30% revenue growth in a period of 3 years starting 2025 through 2027. The company plans to expand its operations to all 47 counties in Kenya while continuing to provide targeted support to Kenya’s underserved population.
When making investment decisions, it is advisable to find out in advance about the project location, in particular the country in which the project will be implemented. To gain an overview, the following indicators provide a helpful starting point for independent research. The information was retrieved from the relevant data sources in June 2025 and is published without guarantee.
INDIKATOR | BEWERTUNG KENIA |
Euler Hermes Ranking | Euler Hermes has assessed the risk of non-payment by Kenyan companies as “sensitive risk” and rated it C3 on a scale from AA to D (sources: Euler Hermes Country Risk Map) |
OECD Klassifizierung | The OECD classifies Kenya’s general country risk as 7 on a scale from 0 (low risk) to 7 (high risk) (sources: OECD Ranking 2024). |
Korruptionsindex (Transparency International) | The corruption index, which is published by Transparency International and is measured on a basis of 0 (high level of corruption) – 100 (no perceived corruption), is 32 in Kenya (source: Transparency International 2023). |
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | The Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate shows the average annualized interest rates that local commercial banks charge their most creditworthy customers for new loans in the local currency. For Kenya, the Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate was 13.6% in 2023 (source: World Bank Data). |
Creditworthiness (Moody’s) | Moody’s has rated the creditworthiness of Kenian overnment bonds at Caa1 on a scale from AAA to D and the outlook is therefore classified as positive (source: Trading Economics) |
Foreign Exchange Market (Bundesbank) | Over the past five years, the exchange rate for the euro in Kenya has slightly increased. Five years ago, the rate was 122.00 Kenyan shillings, one year ago it was 144.48, and today (June 2025) the rate is 147.94 Kenyan shillings (Source: Bundesbank 2025). |
Key figures
| Borrower | BETTERVEST INVESTMENT LTD (haftungsbeschränkt) |
| Investment type | Subordinated loan |
| Loan volume | EUR 99.950 |
| Term | 5 years |
| Return | up to 7,0% p.a. (up to 7,5% p.a. for investments within the first 4 weeks) |
| Financing and repayment | quarterly |
