India-based solar financing startup Aerem has raised $2.5 million in pre-Series A funding to build a technology platform to enable end-to-end seamless interaction with various stakeholders.

The funding round was led by  Blume Ventures.

Aerem said it would also use the capital to recruit and skill teams in leadership for diverse categories, including technology, product, finance, and operations.

The company is pioneering a full-stack solution with a vision to build the country’s first asset finance and quality platform for solar. The platform would be equipped to address critical points of friction that pose challenges in adopting rooftop solar for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The startup provides financing services to clean energy companies and is working towards being future-ready to evolve in the era of sustainability.

Aerem Founder Anand Jain told Mercom, “By helping small and medium scale solar developers deploy their projects, we contribute to climate change action. Our clients help their customers save up to 40-50% of the power bills which would normally go higher without a rooftop solar.”

“We are on a mission to democratize the adoption of rooftop solar and build a better, greener, and sustainable future. Our innovative SolarTech platform includes AAA (Aerem Asset Assurance) that ensures quality rooftop solar systems, which combined with financing from our in-house NBFC or partner banks, enable a significant reduction in power bills of MSMEs. We offer MSMEs a fully digitalized, hassle-free, and seamless experience,” He said.

Aerem is working to bridge a longstanding product gap preventing households and offices from adopting solar rooftops. The financing startup collaborates with developers and engineering, procurement, and construction companies to finance their solar customers, increasing their business and employment potential.

Regarding the funding round, Ashish Fafadia, Partner, Blume Ventures, observed, “Aerem’s full-stack solution provides end-to-end engagement and is ahead of the market by 1-2 years. Solar is in a sweet spot where macro (top-down) and micro (bottom-up) factors are incredibly aligned. This is extremely rare for any sector. India has targeted 280 GW of solar capacity and 50% of its energy requirement from clean energy by 2030.”

In June, Mumbai-based rooftop solar startup SolarSquare raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Good Capital with participation from U.S.-based Lowercarbon Capital, Singapore-based Symphony Asia, and Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter.

Corporate funding—including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing—in the solar sector globally totaled $7.5 billion through 49 deals in the first quarter (Q1) 2022, according to Mercom Capital Group’s Q1 2022 Solar Funding and M&A Report.