Kenyan climate-tech startup SunCulture has secured $5m in a new funding round to scale its solar-powered irrigation systems for smallholder farmers. The investment comes from WaterEquity, a global asset manager focused on water and sanitation, and is the first deal from its new Water & Climate Resilience Fund.
The funding will help SunCulture expand its operations, aiming to provide millions of farmers and their families in rural Africa with reliable access to water.
What Does SunCulture Do?
Founded in 2013 by Samir Ibrahim and Charlie Nichols, SunCulture provides solar-powered water pumps as a more affordable and sustainable alternative to traditional diesel or manual pumps. While designed for irrigation, over 90% of customers also use the systems to access groundwater for daily needs like drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
This tackles a critical infrastructure gap in rural Africa, where, according to WaterEquity, over 80% of the population collects water from sources outside their homes — a time-consuming task predominantly carried out by women and girls.
SunCulture’s business model uses a “pay-as-you-grow” financing system, which allows farmers to acquire the technology through affordable installments rather than a prohibitive upfront cost. The company reports it has sold over 45,000 units to date.
A Growing List of Backers
This latest investment adds to the latest series of significant funding rounds for the Nairobi-based startup, signalling strong investor confidence from development finance institutions (DFIs), tech billionaires, and impact funds.
- In February 2025, British International Investment (BII), the UK’s DFI, invested an additional $4m to support a carbon financing scheme aimed at reducing the upfront cost of SunCulture’s pumps for 16,000 more farmers. This followed a $1.7m commitment from BII in 2023.
- In 2024, the company raised $27m in a round that included high-profile investors like Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
“WaterEquity understands that water investments don’t fall into a single box — scaling water infrastructure can deliver both incredible impact and strong commercial returns,” said Samir Ibrahim, CEO and Co-Founder of SunCulture.
The Investor’s Strategy
The $5m investment is a key move for WaterEquity, co-founded by Gary White and actor Matt Damon. It marks the first deployment from its Water & Climate Resilience Fund, which focuses on scaling companies and infrastructure projects that address water stress.
“SunCulture exemplifies the kind of company we seek out — locally grounded, adaptation-focused, and committed to expanding water access to underserved communities,” said Aleem Remtula, Head of Private Equity and Infrastructure Investments at WaterEquity.
The fund’s backers include corporate giants like Microsoft, Starbucks, and Gap Inc., highlighting a growing private sector interest in financing solutions for the global water and sanitation funding gap. As part of the new partnership, WaterEquity’s sister non-profit, Water.org, will provide SunCulture with technical assistance, including a water quality education program and a greenhouse gas emissions audit.
What’s Next?
With the fresh capital, SunCulture plans to accelerate its expansion beyond its core Kenyan market. The company has already set its sights on Uganda, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Togo. The funding will be crucial for scaling its manufacturing, distribution, and financing capabilities to meet growing demand across the continent.