Candi Solar secures €44 million for 400 MWp India projects

By Grace Kim

Candi Solar announced a €44 million ($50 million) financing facility from Pentagreen Capital for approximately 400 MWp of solar and battery-storage projects across key business hubs in India.

The projects are expected to generate 560 GWh of renewable energy annually, support 227 commercial and industrial customers and avoid an estimated 397,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, according to Candi Solar.

What will the facility build?

The financing will cover rooftop, ground-mounted and open-access solar installations paired with battery energy storage systems, or BESS, Candi Solar said. It targets commercial and industrial customers across India, including small and medium-sized enterprises in sectors the company describes as underserved by renewable-energy access.

Candi Solar said SMEs account for 31% of India’s GDP and 35% of its manufacturing output despite that access gap. Of the 227 customers slated for support, 78% will be SMEs.

The financing covers 400 MWp of projects, with 78% of the 227 supported customers expected to be SMEs.

How does Candi reach smaller businesses?

Fabio Eucalipto, Candi Solar’s co-founder and Director, said:

Millions of smaller businesses power India’s economy and drive its industrial growth. These companies should benefit from clean, reliable energy without the burden of mastering energy complexities or making major capital commitments.

At Candi, we have spent years building a customer-first model to make this possible. By combining rooftop and ground-mounted open-access solutions with flexible financing, we can deliver tailored energy solutions at scale.

EU-Startups described Candi Solar as a Swiss clean-energy platform founded in Zurich in 2018. It finances, builds and operates solar and battery storage for commercial and industrial businesses, with a focus on underserved SMEs.

Candi Solar said the company targets grid instability, lower electricity costs and decarbonization in carbon-intensive emerging markets, chiefly India and South Africa. Under its turnkey shared-value model, clients preserve their capital and pay only for the clean energy generated, while Candi manages engineering, construction and long-term operational performance.

Customers pay for clean power; Candi handles construction and long-term operating performance.

Who is backing the projects?

Pentagreen Capital provides the €44 million facility, according to Candi Solar. The company said the wider strategy also has support from:

• The FAST-P Office under the Monetary Authority of Singapore
• Export Finance Australia
• International Finance Corporation
• Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO)
• HSBC
• Temasek
• British International Investment
• Bank of the Philippine Islands
• Allied Climate Partners
• DBS
• Cathay United Bank

Marat Zapparov, CEO of Pentagreen Capital, added:

India’s growing energy demand and need to reduce oil imports make the transition to clean energy both a strategic and an economic priority.

Pentagreen Capital, under Singapore’s FAST-P initiative, is honoured to partner with Candi, whose flexible solar and storage solutions are tailored to the needs of India’s SMEs.

Together, we are unlocking finance for projects that make clean energy accessible to an underserved segment, help businesses stabilise their energy costs, and strengthen India’s energy security

Pentagreen provides the €44 million facility; the other named institutions support the wider strategy.

How does the deal compare with 2026 funding?

EU-Startups selected seven 2026 European funding announcements for comparison and reported:

• Switzerland’s enshift raised €18.5 million to expand integrated energy-transition services.
• Germany’s encosa secured €25 million for battery storage targeting SMEs.
• Germany’s Feldwerke obtained a €12 million facility for solar-project construction.
• Belgium’s Octave.energy raised €10 million to scale BESS and EMS solutions across Europe.
• Denmark’s Reel secured €15 million to make renewable energy predictable for businesses and profitable for producers.
• Germany’s Einklang raised €2.2 million, with its battery-optimised tariff aimed at cutting SME electricity costs by 30% to 40%.
• Switzerland’s LightSeeds secured €162,000 for a vertical-PV rollout.

The seven announcements represent approximately €82.9 million in financing, EU-Startups said. Including Candi Solar’s €44 million facility lifts the selected group’s total to €126.9 million.

Candi Solar is the largest single financing on EU-Startups’ selected list.

What must Candi deliver next?

Candi Solar said the new capital, recent additional shareholder commitments and an equity round planned for early next year will help it install more than 1 GW of operational solar capacity within 24 months. The company says the target would more than double its total capacity.

Candi’s next test is delivery. It must finance roughly 400 MWp of projects, produce the promised 560 GWh a year and lift operating solar capacity above 1 GW within 24 months while pursuing an equity round early next year.