How I Raised $40 Million To Give Rural Farmers Solar Power

Samir Ibrahim, 33, is the CEO and co-founder of SunCulture, a climate-tech company specializing in developing and commercializing solar power irrigation systems. The company is based out of Nairobi, Kenya, and provides and installs solar-powered drip irrigation systems to rural farmers in Kenya and beyond. SunCulture makes food more accessible to small farmers in Africa by providing affordable products that promote sustainability.
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How I Raised $40 Million To Give Rural Farmers Solar Power

[@mar9560]

“There was no AHA! moment”. That really helps! I’ve been working on my startup for MONTHS and just keep modifying the original idea to build the perfect business. The entrepreneurship journey really isn’t one straight line

[@amsthe3rd]

A series of ideas, in fact. Endless iteration. Wishing you much success out there!

[@TheBerlyn186]

It will never be perfect just start and people will let you know the errors and from there you start to make your product or service better.

[@juanok2775]

just the fact you are saying perfect business is a bad sign, you should start now

[@wecanwork]

I love solar-powered solutions, especially for Africa.

[@hamsesaeeed1564]

I my so!

[@feradwight7055]

Native kenyans have these ideas, problem is funding. Raising 200,000 from family and friends? The average kenyan lacks access to such resources

[@sfa-voiceofafrica]

Why are you complaining though?

[@tylerwestover234]

You complain instead of action.

[@mwanakeinc.8514]

It's not really a complaint. It's just a fact.

[@greenlach7398]

That why he raised from US friends and families

[@AllanKiprop]

Great job, I am a Sunculture customer, the impact of this technology is remarkable

[@hoaftv7561]

As a CNBC Make It lover and fan from Kenya, I'm very happy you've done this video. This shows the potential we have as a country, and how the development of a startup culture can steer us well into real development goals. I actually didn't know this company but I do know I need their product. Thanks once again and do more startup videos of Kenyan and African companies/millennial money whenever possible.

[@MrVoice1]

I met this guy in Seattle and he's good...he presented his business and I was amazed and even took a photo of him...

[@jeffitachi2589]

Based on interactions with Africans Kenyan people are friendly, open minded to changes, industrious and very well educated. If there was a country I would invest and feel safe in Africa is Kenya.

[@chebetwhitney67]

come invest in Kenya

[@jamesalpha1556]

I bet you've never been to Morocco, people there are friendly and the country has huge potential for sucess

[@michaelsamuel9917]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/apK9dYGFbMhrkJo

[@royalchoicetravelltd]

@Kay A What do you mean Kay?

[@mrmumbz]

@Kay A You clearly have't been to Kenya

[@ramsyrama]

Awesome Kenya my country is the best place to do business in Africa, the capital city of Africa

[@imranmaredia7523]

In 2021 Africa raised 5.6b dollars in venture capital for startups

[@Davisjunga]

And Nairobi took lion 🦁 share of that fund e.g basigo etc

[@karenwambugu8269]

Wish you guys knew how hard it is for Kenyans to raise funds unless you get a white or Asian co-founder.

[@purusharthbhatt4374]

I believe if you've have an idea, just develop it enough to show potential results. Once the good return is visible in near future, even the dumbest rich folks would line up to invest.

[@unlockwithjsr]

4:36 , what you say is total bs, it's always hard for everyone. He says in the video at 4:36 that it took them 5 years to raise capital. It's mostly about metrics like product + revenues + vision + market that will always raise you money whether you are black, yellow, pink, investors don't care. You also have to show how you will return more money in the near future from your venture, so they can easily exit. Most people who push the claim you are saying have never actually built a venture.

[@candyjamaican]

This is so true. Look at all those NPOs/NGOs. Light bright and darn white.

[@StarLight-sl9ok]

They’re American and using an American business model which makes it much easier to secure proper funding. In terms of providing business growth opportunities Africa still has a very long way to go.

[@comradejackso3886]

"we borrowed 200k dollars..." this statement alone sows you how white privilege is still prevalent even in our modern times. this is a privilege no Kenyan startup founder has. must be nice being white I guess. like they say silicon valley is looking to invest in africa but only when the founders are white. and i get it as a person working in a bank you try to mitigate your risk by lending to people wo you view to have the same 'culture' or 'lookalike' traits. it's up to africans themselves to start funding their local startups.

[@victorokuna1865]

Hello, this is marvellous. I'm Engineer Victor Okuna, a solar engineer here in Kenya and subculture is simply the best.

[@mrki731]

Thank God for amazing people like Samir and his co-founder. Thank you so much!

[@timszon]

I see sunculture going to the stock exchange in some near future. Can't wait, Bravo guys!

[@phylisteroyoolo3726]

Being a climate Smart Agricultural expert I think this is the way to go in Eastern region( mostly sunny throughout the year)

[@alicenjamwea3908]

For the last two years, I have been looking forward to using this tec in my farm in Narumoru. Three weeks ago went looking for you in whole of Nanyuki without success, Matanya to no avail. Got disappointed and thought otherwise. Contact numbers were not working so I gave up. All the more thumps up for your work Sunculture.

[@dailywebearnclearedmydebts7394]

100k... thank you for all your advice. Instant profit is my favorite business coach 💎

[@joeferreira657]

Fantastic work,simple but effective, good for sun culture . You really getting people out of poverty , making small farmers work smarter.

[@rikmarx107]

Wooow Samir Ibrahim for your great example , love your action !❤

[@dailywebearnclearedmydebts7394]

after watching hundreds of MAKE 500$ A DAY QUICK" and INSERT HYPEY CLICKBAIT TITLE with very vague or misguiding info during the video, Only Instant Profit felt extremely down to earth and helpful. Thanks mate, subscribed and liked

[@jennytugara9470]

I salute this young Men who save the Planet by using Solar Power. We blessed with Solar energy in Africa. We just need Technology. We have beautiful Land and Climate.

[@CrystalKwashie]

I love everything about this. I love how focused he was on solving a problem rather than focusing on how he himself can capitalize off of it.

[@faebalina7786]

Amazing this is definitely scaleable

[@kimemia_maina]

I love the concept, but to act like it's curbing the emissions of small holder farmers in Kenya or Africa that will 'solve' the climate crisis...that is a little rich.

[@krisb-travel]

they need a cool story to tell investors lol

[@DefiSpecialOps]

#replay - Value Bomb - Congrats! - Continued success! 🙏😎👍🏽

[@adrianbrian634]

Great initiative. Wish getting that seed capital would be that easy but the idea is super noble & only the sky is the limit.

[@watchman1thewaycher169]

No foreign investors would give an African money. It's too risky. They fear being duped. They only trust "white people" investing in Africa, not Africans investing in Africa.

[@rikmarx107]

most eloquently explained Samir !

[@amsthe3rd]

3 Thoughts: 1) Water is Life 2) Solving other people's problems IS entrepreneurship. There is no other definition. 3) This has movie/series written all over. Netflix, Prime or Disney???

[@basith237]

It's a big impact for agricultural industry

[@MukwayaVincent]

Very inspirational, keep up the good world to develop mother Africa.

[@bennjeri1886]

May the Almighty God bless everyone who is going to watch this video.May you have a bright future and live a life,full of God's Devine blessings. May the world be a peaceful place to live for you. Amen

[@seankinyua9562]

Wow! I love such stories. I’ll be on CNBC make in the near future. I state it now Hey there friend, please like this so that I can come back to it every day to feed my ambition !

[@kokoalick3392]

Real problem solving right there! Thanks for sharing!

[@JulAlxAU]

Love this channel! Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be your interview subject. Very inspiring indeed.

[@engageland8123]

This is so inspiring

[@koffido1334]

Togo 🇹🇬

[@kangarakariuki4903]

Great job sunculture

[@MegaBladerunner007]

Great stuff!

[@gabiqokie1149]

Great work Samir 👍🏾

[@AleeEnt863]

Beautiful!!!

[@simonndungu9696]

Invest in Kenya y'all. The gateway to Africa.

[@joescomputerpartsllc2576]

Kenya believe it!

[@kwenamedia]

Not South Africa?

[@not.likely]

Kenyans got a bad reputation of being corrupt

[@thebisadorychannel7574]

This is amazing work. I am interested and would love to know more about the solar pumps.

[@salomonballan7415]

Hi CNBC , Ballan entreprises c.a.-Venezuela , Renewable Energies , all the good for the country Kenya solar energy installing in this favorable start up .

[@unin9941]

You r a hero

[@waitwho9283]

Beautiful implementation

[@nopelindoputraperkasa5869]

Excellent Vidio 👍 Amazing 👍👍 greeting from Indonesian traditional gold sheeker 🇲🇨🐄🐮🌸🌺❤️✋👍👍

[@jgales2987]

Well done Samir 👍🏽

[@drastix04]

Wonderful

[@AJohnson0325]

It’ll probably help the farmers but the actual effect on global warming will be basically nothing. Africa emits a very small percentage of the world’s CO2 where China emits the most at over 25% of the world’s total carbon dioxide.

[@kama6196]

This is 👍🏽

[@ollievw3450]

Big thumbs up. Be a thousand times larger, that’s ambition.

[@hmatanda]

Wow

[@travisfield5380]

Bravo

[@wakeupschool]

fantastic

[@Mrbhanureddy1]

I think it would be a good idea to launch the product in India...

[@LovinglyYourz]

I love renewable energy like Solar Power!

[@brayanartist6233]

social entrepreneurship at its best.

[@lazarusramaube8291]

The key to their success was starting with their own money before risking anyone else'.Goodluck.

[@krisb-travel]

questions: is there a way farmers can keep their existing big pumps but simply change the power source to solar? How are they ensuring farmers pay each month? Surely defaults are VERY VERY HIGH.

[@michaelsamuel9917]

Its pay to Own and ppl do have money to spend on things like this in most places.

[@kenmark5676]

Existing big pumps are usually very very inefficient. Eg: diesel pumps/engines are usually built with thick heavy metals to withstand the high pressure and tensions released from diesel combustion energy. A solar (DC) pump is usually extremely energy efficient as it has to be able to function with the lower amount of power (current) generated from solar.

[@krisb-travel]

@@kenmark5676 Cheers Ken, appreciate the detailed answer. Looking to do this in the Philippines. Not pulled the trigger yet though

[@kenmark5676]

@@krisb-travel always welcome. Just make sure you understand the costs including flow rate (rate at which water is being pumped) with regards to your consumption as that will determine your profits and losses.

[@sialuk85]

Samir just story just made me plan to buy the solar pump... change of mind from electric pump

[@farmboy8663]

come to zambia

[@aarononeal9830]

Cnbc make it needs to talk about Ecosia they are a search engine that plants tress .

[@YasinNabi]

Making money is an art, learn this art and live rich till you live !.../

[@observer950]

Teach me please 🙏 we need this

[@euniceschoenfelder3570]

How can get one and how much does it cost

[@downbntout]

Drip irrigation kits would be next

[@royalchoicetravelltd]

Good Job Samir

[@watchman1thewaycher169]

Typical african praising & being submissive to his slave master. Can't you see that Samir is exploiting poor Africans??? 🤷🏻‍♂️.

[@kiharawaweru30]

Explain how cost of 1200 USD is arrived at at market prizes of the components. Otherwise good idea

[@prasad5621]

Very good 👍

[@9Rehankhan19]

Omg! You’re praising a Muslim being an Indian Hindu? Shocking😮

[@user-gz7ov3nc5q]

My farm is in Laikipia, a sub sahara region in Kenya. I'd like to acquire this product. Please advise how

[@kenyup5424]

He def is somebody, that's why he was with Boris Johnson

[@not.likely]

Boris us on the way down, follow the news

[@brunorocha1294]

HELLO, I'M NEW TO CRYPTO AND FOREX TRADING AND I HAVE INCURRED SO MUCH LOSSES TRADING ON MY OWN...I TRADE WELL ON DEMO BUT I THINK THE REAL MARKET IS MANIPULATED... CAN ANYONE HELP ME OUT OR AT LEAST TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING WRONG ?

[@danielabah7312]

Trading with an expert is the best strategy for newbies and busy investors who have little or no time to monitor trade

[@gabriellarogers409]

@Caroline Arine I strongly advise you against self trading, it's really dangerous and had brought so many investors down, you need someone with the knowledge and strategies, someone dedicated to the crypto currency market business, and I will strongly recommend expert, Mrs LAURA

[@ezehchimes]

I invested $2000 with her and i made huge profit of $6800 and I reinvest more after than

[@Abdullah36026]

@Coinary TV You don't need to be shock because I'm also a huge beneficiary of expert Mrs Laura

[@richardsteve3185]

I stumbled upon one of her clients testimonies and decided to try her out...I'm Expecting my third cashout in 2days

[@420.........]

I'm a rural farmer and was denied permission to connect my 5.6kw 20k array because they produce less power then the required insurance and I need help

[@krisb-travel]

Hi, how much are you paying in diesel costs per month?

[@420.........]

@@krisb-travel I fill a tank when I can.. sometimes I wait to fill it

[@krisb-travel]

@@420......... not sure you fully understood the question there buddy.

[@420.........]

@@krisb-travel it's 500 to fill my tank m8

[@candyjamaican]

Hmmmm I’m sure there are real Kenyans startups with better inventions that needed this advertising spot.

[@kingmed6061]

And naive Africans aren't seeing it. There are so many ingenious innovations on the continent by Africans that this is miniscule.

[@DreX-8810]

Kenyans should be doin this on their own. It no outsiders using you for labor!

[@rinshadrinzi5798]

Start in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 also

[@denismuthoga]

As a Kenyan am really proud

[@Agnelum1]

Proud of what exactly? That once again Kenyans have been overlooked and it's some foreigners coming in to make millions? African entrepreneurs can't even get start-up funding in our own countries but these outsiders come in with basic ideas and immediately get millions thrown at them simply for not being African.

[@Rustaman84]

I am a kenyan living in the US, how can we invest in this start up?

[@candyjamaican]

Go find a fellow Kenyan brother/sister to invest in!! what he and his white partner is doing isn’t an invention.

[@krisb-travel]

im launching this idea in the Philippines

[@GabrielTheExplorer254]

I'm an American wanting to go to Kenya. I would definitely invest in a different start up because this one appears to be self sufficient and successful and are profiting from paying farmers. I definitely want to try to do something a similar product but for a water systems for rural communities in Kenya. For me , it's not about the money, I just want to try to help Kenyans who will appreciate it and help their lives become better.

[@mzeewakazi]

he's on the spot when it comes to business, but there's a (BUT) 😂, reality on the ground is different

[@whitneybrown4067]

🔥🔥🔥👍….

[@EvvagreenNaturals]

Wow! Are you in Nigeria?

[@motionup2259]

Thanks SUNCULTURE west Africa is waiting for you

[@tvs9978]

Why are you waiting for someone to bring it to you instead of creating your own?

[@watchman1thewaycher169]

@@tvs9978 inferiority complex among africans is real. They are waiting for a "white saviour".

[@ronhak3736]

We are interested to do the same for Bangladesh with a partner.

[@sxc642]

200,000USD is alot of money in kenya for a startup.

[@unlockwithjsr]

He probably raised for expansion in as many countries as possible.

[@icetrip2417]

Damm

[@jennytugara9470]

How can I contact this People I fell in love with this technology? Any one have the Contact?

[@tvs9978]

Why don't you just Google the company. Their website is sure to come up

[@jennytugara9470]

@@tvs9978 I tried but it didn’t work!!!!

[@ManOfSteel1]

this pump + panel is not even worth 200$.... this is ultra profit organization not non profit!

[@watchman1thewaycher169]

exactly. this is typical western corporate greed. why do you think westerners invested in the first place. They are exploiting poor Africans.

[@justChuka]

Come to Nigeria 🇳🇬 when you need more than $40M.

[@jeffitachi2589]

Hope he won't get scammed lol🤣🤣

[@Hansulf]

Really? Sprinklers instead of drip irrigation???

[@chulangaaverilhettiarachch3267]

To the person reading this: Even though I don’t know you, I wish you the best of what life has to offer ❤

[@thomasrogers9146]

THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. AMERICAN COMPANIES MAKING MONEY AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE GLOBALLY INSTEAD OF MILITARISM.

[@mensilak]

Why not an African?

[@watchman1thewaycher169]

Africans are waiting for a saviour to help them from their problems. They can't do it on their own. It's a Completely sickening mentality.

[@tabathastaples7884]

Shepherd's Chapel Network !!!!!!! Do you know where America is mentioned in the Bible ???????

[@intelligentsia9493]

The poor need poverty because they live in it.

[@mariorossi9655]

Another hype train headed for inevitable failure.

[@aprilp660]

That's a pretty defeatist attitude

[@sxc642]

I love your eyesight. What's your Twitter handle for a conversation?

[@krisb-travel]

why do you think it will fail? Its literally an idea (not created by these guys) that solves every farmers problem.

[@grainofsalt2113]

Tired of these foreigners coming to Kenya setting up these unprofitable venture capital traps and using local people's lives as fodder for these dumb start ups. Stop making money off the back of smallholder farmers

[@kmurigz3642]

Only a few can see . There is no way he is doing for the farmers no matter how he puts it… it’s crazy how people still fall for something like this. He is there to make money and get good returns in the near future , investors will only invest if they will make profit at the end .

[@kiharawaweru30]

1200 USD. Can they justify this cost with 2 small panels worth 100Usd

[@carollynne5943]

The cake is big, play ur part well.

[@antony6799]

Guys it's a free donation to Kenya. Most of these business ideas won't even last 5 years anyway . With the ongoing govt rural electrification program, I don't see why any farmer would stick with them for long. Soon the business will shut down and most of the investment money will remain in Kenya. Consider it a free $40 m donation to the Kenyan economy. Be happy and invite more to come.

[@grainofsalt2113]

@@antony6799 its not a donation farmers pay 4000 shillings a month for this nonsense

[@FromDailywebEARN]

(Notice the name) Instant profit❤org Life changing that gave me legitimate money

[@be.inspired]

Brilliant story #techstartup