A local solar energy firm, SOLshare, has secured $1.66 million from three global investors as it seeks to widen people's access to clean energy.

The three investors are: Singapore-based IIX Growth Fund, Silicon Valley-based innogy New Ventures LLC, and Portuguese utility firm EDP, SOLshare said in a statement.

The funds will be used to increase access to clean energy for more than 19,000 rural households and 14,000 micro-entrepreneurs, and address climate change by avoiding more than 2,200 tonnes of carbon emissions by 2021.

SOLshare is making affordable clean energy and offers the world's first peer-to-peer solar electricity trading platform for off-grid households in Bangladesh.          

The platform interconnects users with and without solar home systems (SHS) to a smart direct-current grid, while empowering communities to be solar entrepreneurs by selling their excess energy.

In the statement, Robert Kraybill, managing director of IIX, said access to modern, clean energy is essential not only for reducing poverty, but also for building more inclusive, resilient communities. “With the majority of the world's energy poor living in Asia, we're thrilled to have SOLshare as the IIX Growth Fund's first investment in Bangladesh.”

“Through my 30 years of experience in the country, I now see great opportunity to invest in innovative enterprises such as SOLshare that meet rising energy demands, maximise scarce resources, and ensure a sustainable future for everyone.”

Kraybill said SOLshare's tech-driven platform has already received global recognition. “And we are happy to be able to fund their rollout in Bangladesh and expansion into neighbouring countries.” Sebastian Groh, managing director of SOLshare, said, “We are extremely honoured and grateful that partners from innogy, EDP, and IIX have put their trust in us in shaping this new energy future.”

The aim is to create efficient and dynamic local energy markets that empower households and encourage solar entrepreneurship – starting in Bangladesh, followed by India before the end of this year, and eventually on a global scale, Groh said.

Bangladesh has five million solar home systems installed – more than any other country in the world.

However, more than half of Bangladesh's population has no or only poor access to electricity, and demand has reached nearly double the country's generating capacity, said the statement. The country also faces significant unmet energy needs as its power generation is dependent on limited energy sources—imported fossil fuel and natural gas. Furthermore, grid extension is not always feasible and in some cases technically challenging.