Aerem, a startup focused on solar project financing, has raised Rs 100 crore (approximately $12 million) in a Series A funding round led by Japan’s University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners.

The round also saw participation from British International Investment, SE Ventures, Riverwalk Holdings, and existing investors Blume Ventures and Avaana Capital. Additionally, Aerem secured debt funding from financial institutions such as IDFC, AU Small Finance Bank, Axis Bank, Northern Arc, MAS Financials, and Vivriti Capital.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its presence in current markets, expand its lending offerings, and enhance its technology infrastructure for its solar marketplace.

Founded in 2021 by Anand Jain and Vikesh Agrawal, Mumbai-based Aerem offers loans for solar panel installations to both businesses and homeowners. Through its NBFC arm, NetZero Finance, the startup also provides supply chain financing to solar equipment and EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) companies. Aerem operates a B2B platform called SunStore, which helps customers access solar equipment at competitive prices.

This latest funding round follows a $5 million Pre-Series A investment led by Avaana Capital nearly two years ago.

According to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Aerem’s consolidated operating revenue surged 9X to Rs 175 crore in FY24 from Rs 1.84 crore the previous year. Its net profit also rose by 26% to Rs 3.57 crore, up from Rs 2.82 crore in FY23.

India’s solar sector has been gaining momentum thanks to various government-backed initiatives like the Solar Park Scheme, Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Scheme, and Bundling Scheme. As of 2023, India ranked fifth globally in terms of solar capacity, with 70.10 GW installed.

The solar energy market in India is projected to grow to $50.4 billion by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 22%. However, despite this growth and strong policy support, investor sentiment in the Indian cleantech space has been cautious. Total investments in the sector dipped by nearly 4% to $829 million in 2024, compared to $861 million in 2023. Over the last two years, overall funding in cleantech has dropped nearly 25% from its $1.1 billion peak.

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