- As per the startup, the newly-raised money will be utilized to distribute software that automates processes for solar installers
- Founded in 2021 by Manan Mehta, Abhishek Pillai, and Farhan Ahmed, Solar Ladder aims to establish a robust marketplace for solar needs
A leading Indian supply chain platform for solar installation companies, Solar Ladder recently announced that it raised Rs 11 crores in seed funding from Axilor Ventures, Titan Capital, DeVC, Stride Ventures, and angels from Atha Group, NIPHA group, Varun Alagh (Founder, Mamaearth), Subin Mitra and Aditya Bandi of Groyyo, Deepak Jain (Partner, Bain and Co.) among others. As per the startup, the newly-raised money will be utilized to distribute software that automates processes for solar installers, allowing them to expand their business tenfold and aiming to become the go-to ecosystem for solar installation companies. With its suite of services which includes SaaS, procurement, financing, and other value-added services, this barely three-year-old startup aims to establish a robust marketplace that enables cheaper procurement, provides short-term embedded credit and insurance products to meet installers’ working capital requirements, and offers long-term financing options for end customers of solar installers.
The official note quoted recent reports to claim that India’s potential for rooftop solar is estimated at 200 GW. It further added that in the first quarter of FY23, 456 MW of rooftop solar capacity—the second-highest for a quarter—was added.
Manan Mehta, Co-founder of Solar Ladder remarked on the funding, “India’s per capita electricity consumption is significantly lower than the global average, and rooftop solar energy is the most cost-effective means of generating electricity. By adopting rooftop solar energy India has a unique chance to decentralize its power supply and enhance the quality of life for all citizens. The key to seizing this opportunity lies with the solar installers who are striving to implement rooftop solar on a large scale. Solar Ladder aims to facilitate faster scaling for these installers by providing them with appropriate financial, procurement, and software tools.”
Co-founder Abhishek Pillai stated, “We at Solar Ladder are committed to helping solar installers grow their business 10x. In the fiercely competitive domain of rooftop solar installation companies, Solar Ladder aspires to equip local installers in every city with state-of-the-art technologies and services to enhance their capabilities.” The company claims to have achieved profitability while being bootstrapped.
“Solar Ladder is building a digital flywheel in one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy, globally. The India opportunity alone in residential and commercial solar installations is well above $50 billion. We are confident in the founding team to scale the company as a key enabler, bringing procurement transparency and credit availability in a highly fragmented and broken supply chain,” commented Prachi Sinha from Axilor Ventures.
2021-found Solar Ladder identifies as a full-stack supply chain platform helping solar installation companies to deploy rooftop solar faster. It has received awards and grants from various organizations such as YCombinator Startup School (USA), London School of Economics (UK), Govt of India, and Facebook.
