Sun Exchange, a global solar micro-leasing marketplace, in partnership with rural mini-grid solutions provider Powerhive, has announced a new initiative aimed at leveraging crypto-economy to foster energy access to rural communities in Kenya.

Under the partnership, Powerhive will be the exclusive recipient of proceeds designated for solar project pre-financing from sales of the Sun Exchange SUNEX digital rewards token. The funds would be dedicated to building solar-powered rural electrification mini-grid projects, which include revenue and livelihood enhancing programs throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the official release, the solar panels making up these projects will be subsequently offered for sale to Sun Exchange members, who will then be able to own cells within the projects and earn “solar-powered money” from the electricity the projects produce. When fully subscribed, this process is expected to catalyse $23 million of capital that will accelerate Powerhive’s solar-powered mini-grid rollout, by funding approximately 150 new projects that will provide power to 175,000 people currently lacking power.

“Our partnership with Powerhive underscores the SUNEX token sale opportunity to support a crypto project geared directly towards reducing global inequality and climate impact,” said Abraham Cambridge, Founder & CEO, Sun Exchange. “Together, we are working towards a world where no one is forced to cook with unsafe kerosene or wood-burning stoves, no child has to worry about how they will study after dark, and lack of energy access ceases to propel cycles of poverty.”

In addition to providing utility-grade power to communities, Powerhive operates wealth generation programmes within them, such as the solar-powered chicken incubation ‘Kuku Poa’ initiative. By allocating the available solar power for productive use, it drives overall economic development and prosperity, ensuring access to energy remains affordable.

“Over the past seven years Powerhive has built a vertically integrated platform that allows us to identify, construct and operate the highest quality and lowest cost solar-powered mini-grids in Africa,” said Powerhive Founder and CEO, Christopher Hornor. "By providing the power platform first and then layering in productive use programmes, we create a virtuous cycle of economic and personal empowerment that provides steady profits for both our customers and our investors. Our partnership with Sun Exchange will now give almost anyone the opportunity to invest in innovative low-carbon development projects in Africa and beyond.”

The Sun Exchange online solar panel micro-leasing platform would enable anyone, anywhere across the globe to earn income while helping to bring clean, sustainable, affordable solar power to organisations such as schools, small businesses, hospitals and NGOs in emerging markets.

The SUNEX public token sale event has been already launched. Sun Exchange pointed out a number of benefits of the digital token, which includes

• Opportunities to receive up to a 20 percent return in tokens by staking SUNEX tokens into the Sun Exchange Solar Power Insurance Fund (SPIF)
• Access to discounts and lease bonuses when using the Sun Exchange platform, which has been live and operating successfully for several years
• Bancor protocol integration ensures SUNEX token liquidity
• Because Sun Exchange is an affiliate of the SolarCoin Foundation, members earn three digital currency income streams (BTC, SUNEX & SLR) when utilizing the platform
• SUNEX is priced against the US dollar and can be purchased by credit card

Sun Exchange has been selected by the United Nations Development Program recently selected to pilot blockchain-based solar finance in Moldova. Additionally, the company won the Mondato Award for Social Impact in Sub Saharan Africa and has been named the best Blockchain Business in Africa at the African Fintech Awards for the past two years running.