FINANCIAL SUPPORT THROUGH BLENDED FINANCE

Revolving Solar Fund

For most schools and hospitals, cost is the main barrier to solar power.
Even when the switch would lower expenses for years to come, the upfront investment often puts it out of reach.
Our Solar Fund bridges this gap, by giving social institutions the financial means to start their solar journey, while every repayment gets reinvested in the fund help the next hospital or school make the same sustainable switch.

Aid Pioneers provides financial support to local community-based organizations (CBOs) in two forms: a partial grant and an interest-free loan, bridging the financing gap for local innovators who want to invest in their communities' future. The loan portion is set based on what partners can comfortably repay within two years, calculated from their historical energy costs for diesel generators. As a result, all local partners see immediate monetary savings from the moment the system is installed.

All loan repayments go toward financing new solar installations for other projects, so each solar project helps fund installations for other local hospitals and schools and creates a ripple effect of positive change. In this way, contributions to our solar fund go 100% directly into projects, are then recycled through repayments, and help spread solar energy to parts of the world where these installations have the greatest impact on local communities' lives.

How it works

FUND
The Aid Pioneers Solar Fund consists of donations and repayments from past projects.

Project Financing
Aid Pioneers provides the upfront investment for the solar system in the form of a combination of a grant and a loan, the amount of which depends on the organisation's ability to repay.

Repayment
The organisation repays part of their savings generated by the solar system back into the Aid Pioneers Solar Fund. That means organisations are saving from day one and own the system upon loan repayment.

Revolving Fund
The fund – enlarged by the last project‘s repayments – then provides for the next organisation‘s solar system.

FUND
Aid Pioneers manages the Revolving Solar Fund. Donations and repayments from earlier projects keep it stocked, and depending on how much has come back in, that money can be redirected to launch new installations.

Project Financing
When a new project begins, Aid Pioneers works with the local partner to size the installation and calculate the investment it needs. On average, a grant covers 20 to 40 percent of that cost, while an interest-free loan covers the remaining 60 to 80 percent, sized to what the partner can comfortably repay.

Repayment
Over a period of up to 24 months, the partner returns part of the savings generated by their new solar system, until the loan is fully repaid. The monthly amount is always set below what they used to pay for diesel, so the partner keeps a share of the savings from month one.

Revolving Fund
As repayments come in, they accumulate in the fund alongside new donations, ready to finance the next round of solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Lebanon. A euro donated goes to work once, then returns through repayments to go to work again elsewhere, multiplying its impact well beyond the first installation.

HOW THE FUND MADE SOLAR POSSIBLE AT

Tuyoor Al-Amal School

Tuyoor Al-Amal are a group of three schools in Tripoli, Lebanon, serving over 2,400 Syrian refugee children from Kindergarten to Grade 12 (the final year of high school). Established and led by refugees, the team of 95 staff is drawn from Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian communities.

Tuyoor Al Amal Schools were founded in 2013 by Mustafa Al-Haj. Having himself fled from Syria, he recognised the dire need of the community in Tripoli (Lebanon) to gain access to quality education. Having started with about 350 children, the school now teaches over 2400 children in two different locations and starts to expand its curriculum beyond the Lebanese standard curriculum to integrate life-skills into its teaching. The school is one of its kind as it offers an officially recognized degree to its mostly Syrian graduates.

repaid almost 50% and paid less because of earlier payment


set up the repaymeent for 18 months initially, repaid early

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • We help nonprofits reduce the cost and complexity of implementing solar energy systems to underserved communities across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Acting as a technical and logistical partner, Aid Pioneers designs and implements solar projects and connects organisations with discounted equipment, international shipping networks, and local delivery infrastructure.

  • We work with registered nonprofits and NGOs delivering health or education services in low-resource settings. Although our current programmes are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, we welcome enquiries from organisations working in other regions and are always open to exploring new opportunities.

  • Aid Pioneers partners with various companies, primarily in the solar energy and logistics sectors. Companies such as Enpal, Maersk or Flexport support Aid Pioneers’ humanitarian work by providing services or goods for free or at reduced costs. This enables Aid Pioneers to implement projects for other NGOs at much lower costs.

  • Aid Pioneers operates as an implementation partner rather than a funding body. Although we don't generally provide direct project funding, our network and expertise allow us to execute solar projects at significantly lower cost than most organisations could achieve on their own. In some cases, we may also co-fund a project alongside a partner. For solar installations where upfront payment is a barrier, our revolving solar fund can help bridge that gap.

  • The process covers technical planning and system design, procurement from vetted international suppliers, customs clearance in challenging import environments such as Ethiopia, Chad, and Syria, and long-term remote monitoring after installation. Aid Pioneers manages each stage directly, so partners don't need separate vendors for engineering, sourcing, and logistics.

  • Get in touch at partnerships@aidpioneers.com with your project idea or any questions you have, and we'll get back to you to discuss next steps.

Got a project in mind?