Vietnam-based rooftop solar startup SmartSolar has raised new debt funding, taking its total funding to $3.15 million from both equity and debt.
The company is using this money to expand its financing solutions and help small and medium-sized businesses manage rising electricity costs.
While the equity round allowed us to build our platform in 2025, the bigger story now is access to institutional debt. The SECO Startup Fund provides the first loan under a development finance initiative. “Equity helped us build the platform. Debt is what allows us to scale,” said our founder and CEO Kevin Junker. “Having the SECO Start-up Fund as our first institutional lender is a strong signal that this model works commercially and from an impact perspective.”
“SmartSolar exemplifies the type of entrepreneur-led, impact-driven business that supports both climate action and economic development,” said Christian Brändli, Head of Private Sector Development at SECO. “This investment demonstrates Switzerland’s commitment to backing commercially viable solutions that address real market gaps in emerging economies.”
The new $1.3 million in debt will allow us to fund additional installations and continue building the track record required to raise larger structured facilities from development finance institutions and private credit funds. “Our model is replicable, and we’re building the foundation now to mobilize significantly larger pools of institutional capital next and expand across Southeast Asia.” said Dominik Wingeier, CFO of SmartSolar.
SmartSolar is a solar energy company based in Saigon that offers affordable rooftop solar solutions to small and medium businesses in Vietnam. It uses a “solar-as-a-service” model, which means businesses can install solar systems without paying any upfront cost.
With this model, companies can reduce their electricity bills by 15–25% while using clean energy. Founded in 2024, SmartSolar has already installed around 4 MWp of solar power across more than 75 systems for its customers.
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