Oorjan Cleantech, an India-based rooftop solar solutions provider, raised $450,000 (~₹28.8 million) in online seed funding. US-based VC firm, Globevestor was the primary investor followed by group of senior directors in banks and financial services companies, including, Sayandev Chakravartti, Aditya Sharma, Nisha Pillai, and Mayur Bhat.

“There is no doubt that solar is the way of the future. India is witnessing a joining of forces and commitment from government, industry, manufacturers and entrepreneurs, which has brought momentum to the sector and makes now a great time to invest in it,” said Ankur Shrivastava, partner and co-founder at Globevestor.

Oorjan Cleantech will use the funds to scale operations, augment sales efforts, and further build its technology advantage.

“The current fundraise will enable us to invest in making the customer experience seamless. We’re building a core technology moat across lead generation, pre-sales experience, smart CRM and engagement, as well as in leveraging solar data at scale,” said Roli Gupta of Oorjan.

According to the company, its integrated, managed platform brings together all stakeholders of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems, including suppliers, installers, and financiers. It also offers consumers a single space to interface with the stakeholders. Oorjan oversees the design, installation, financing, approvals, ongoing monitoring, and maintenance of a solar system for its customers.

Oorjan Cleantech has operations in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai. According to the firm, it has completed around 70 projects, to date.

According to Mercom’s Q2 2017 Solar Funding and M&A Report, VC funding for the India solar sector accounted for $486 million (~₹31.4 billion) in the first half (1H) of 2017.

Rooftop solar is a growing segment in India with approximately 1.3 GWs installed to date according to Mercom India Research. The rooftop market in India so far has not grown as fast as expected, but as project costs come down the market is expected to heat up.

Image credit: Oorjan Cleantech