Just few weeks back we have published a story on how solar startup in India is booming like never before, this time its Delhi based Claro Energy which has raised undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors in India, Singapore, the US and Canada.
Claro Energy offers solar-powered water pumping solutions to meet irrigation water and drinking water needs of rural population in power-deficit regions in India.
The investment was led by Sheetal Bahl who is the MD of startup consultancy cum angel network Growx Ventures and an independent angel investor. Other investors include Abraham Thomas (co-founder at Quandl), Arun Singhal (MD at Standard Chartered Bank) and Kashyap Deorah - a serial entrepreneur who recently sold his new mobile payments venture JustChalo to OpenTable.
Claro claims gross margins of 30-35 per cent. But cashflow is volatile, as a lot of it goes in giving bank guarantees (for participating in tenders) or in ramping up the payroll.
Sometime back Claro told Business Standard that - The key constraint is funding, or the lack of it, which could hurt growth. Though its model is not capex heavy — it places an order for equipment when it gets one — lack of capital will inhibit its ability to grow. It doesn’t have access to working capital; a credit line of ~1-2 crore could do it a world of good. Banks don’t give unsecured lending, and want collateral.
Now that Claro Energy has got the funding as desired the funds will surely give a boost to startup of young entrepreneurs - Soumitra Mishra and Kartik Wahi who are just 29 odd years of age who has also selected among India's Hottest Young Entrepreneurs by BusinessWorld.
Recently Claro sets up one of India's largest solar powered tube well pump in Patna Bihar with capacity of 7.5HP AC solar powered pump.
Apart from Irrigation/ solar power water pump the startup is also providing a wide range of portable solar powered water purification systems. These systems are ideal for remote villages where water purification and electrical power are unavailable. These systems come Solar photovoltaic Electrically Powered for areas without electrical power.
Advertisements
