Solfin Raises ₹280 Cr and Turns Profitable in 1st Year, Powering India’s Clean‑Energy Financing Revolution

• Digital-first green finance platform positions itself at the centre of India’s accelerating clean-energy transition

Solfin Sustainable Finance has raised ₹280 crore in a recently closed round and turned profitable within its first full year of operations a rare combination for an early-stage NBFC, and a signal of the structural demand now reshaping how India finances its energy future.

Solfin was founded on a single conviction: India’s shift away from fossil fuels will be one of the defining economic transitions of the next two decades, and it will not happen at scale without purpose-built financing. The company’s vision is to make clean energy the default choice for every Indian household, business, and community by removing the financial friction that today slows adoption.

That vision is meeting its moment. India has committed to 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2070. Rooftop solar economics have crossed grid parity in most states, residential schemes such as PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana have brought millions of households into the addressable market, and rising commercial tariffs are pushing businesses to lock in long-term energy-cost certainty.

Together, policy, economics, and consumer demand are converging into a multi-decade adoption curve, with distributed solar at its centre. The constraint is no longer technology or willingness it is access to fast, well-priced capital and a trusted network to deliver it.

This is where Solfin is built to win. Its proprietary underwriting engine and digital-first operating model have compressed residential loan approvals from weeks to days and brought complex C&I financing turnaround times down to single digits without compromising portfolio quality.

A distribution model anchored by partnerships with EPCs, dealers, OEMs, and manufacturers, including Waaree Energies, has scaled the platform to more than 1,200 partners and expanded clean-energy access deep into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

“India’s energy transition is the largest infrastructure opportunity of our generation, but it will only move at the speed of its financing,” said Gautam Kaushik and Pramod Mahanta, Co-Founders of Solfin. “We built Solfin to remove the friction from that financing so that a homeowner in a Tier 3 town, a factory owner in an industrial cluster, and a national EPC can all access capital on the same fast, transparent, technology-led terms.”

The fresh capital will fund deeper investments in AI-driven credit models, portfolio monitoring and collections, geographic expansion into underpenetrated states, new green-financing products, and entry into adjacent customer segments.

Standard Chartered Launches Sustainable Trade Loan for Financial Institutions

The offering will focus on sustainable end-use within the renewable energy sector

Standard Chartered today launched a sustainable trade loan offering for financial institutions. The new offering supports the Bank’s financial institution clients globally by providing liquidity to support the underlying trade flows associated with sustainable development, in areas where it is most needed.

With a current focus on the sustainable end-use¹ pillar within the renewable energy sector, the bank will reference its Green and Sustainable Product Framework – co-authored by ESG data, research and ratings firm, Morningstar Sustainalytics – on eligible activities the facility can be used to finance. Some examples include installation of wind turbines, purchase of solar panels, and sale of renewable energy battery storage systems.

The lack of funding for sustainability initiatives continues to be a challenge for companies – the bank’s recent research report notes that approximately 70% of large corporates and mid-sized companies found obtaining funding or finance for ESG and sustainability-related expenses and investments to be a major issue. Standard Chartered’s sustainable trade loan thus provides financial institutions with the much-needed liquidity to support trade flows associated with clean technology projects, accelerating the progress of [their] clients in meeting net zero commitments as part of their overall sustainability agenda.

“We know that many financial institutions and their clients want to play a greater role in driving sustainable outcomes by directing capital to where it matters most in their markets,” said Samuel Matthew, Global Head of Flow and Financial Institutions Trade at Standard Chartered. “The launch of our sustainable trade loan for financial institutions clients aims to support them by providing liquidity for flows that meet their sustainability aspirations. It further demonstrates our commitment to be a force for good by delivering targeted solutions and capabilities that can help to close the financing gap needed to achieve these goals.”

The offering builds on the bank’s sustainable trade finance proposition that was announced in March 2021, which was designed to help companies implement more sustainable practices across their ecosystems and build more resilient supply chains.

Watch the video to find out more:

https://www.sc.com/en/banking/banking-for- companies/transaction-banking/sustainable-trade-financing

¹Sustainable end-use refers to trade flows that support investment and spends that have a positive environmental and social outcome.