What TRINE does

TRINE is a Swedish impact investing platform founded in 2015 and headquartered in Sweden (operating from Gothenburg with a Stockholm office per other inputs), that provides debt financing to early-stage solar developers in emerging markets. Its core offering centers on enabling zero-upfront-cost solar deployments through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) structures, where Trine supplies capital to local developers who then sell generated electricity to end users at rates below prevailing grid tariffs. Disclosed portfolio investments include a EUR 5 million commitment to Kenyan developer Miale Solar Inventions Ltd (announced January 2026) and a US$3 million debt facility to Vietnamese startup Stride (June 2024), with reported customer outcomes of electricity priced approximately 50% below Kenya's KPLC grid tariffs.

The platform serves two layers of customers. The direct counterparties are solar developers in markets such as Kenya and Vietnam, which Trine positions as among the best-capitalized operators in their geographies through sizable multi-million-euro/dollar commitments. The end beneficiaries are commercial, industrial, and institutional energy users (education, healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture) in Kenya, plus households and small businesses in Vietnam seeking low- or zero-upfront solar access. The business model is debt-led: Trine earns returns primarily through interest on capital deployed, supplemented by transaction-level economics on structured financings, with investment terms negotiated individually rather than publicly disclosed.

Operationally, Trine is a lean organization (1–10 employees) that has raised approximately $9.5 million in equity across three funding rounds (2016, 2017, and March 2024), with the 2017 round led by Gullspång Invest. Co-founders Christoffer Falsen and Sam Manaberi serve as co-CEOs, with Andreas Lehner as COO and Christian Genne as CTO. Distribution is conducted via direct outreach, industry networks, and partnerships rather than through a broad marketing funnel, consistent with a B2B impact-investing model.

Name

TRINE

Website

https://trine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TRINE is a Swedish impact investing platform, founded in 2015, that provides debt financing to early-stage solar developers in emerging markets. It enables zero-upfront-cost solar deployments through Power Purchase Agreements, serving commercial, industrial, institutional, residential, and small-business energy users in Kenya, Vietnam, and similar markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investing / Renewable Energy Financing

NAICS

Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)

akta.pro primary industry

PPA Origination, Structuring & Offtake Contracting (Physical/Financial, Sleeves) (EUAMAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Solar EPC & Construction (Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Balance of System) (EUAMABAB)

Keywords

• Impact investing platform
• Solar project financing
• Renewable energy debt
• Emerging market financing
• Power purchase agreements

Headquarters

HQ city

Gothenburg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Impact Investment Returns: Trine generates returns by providing debt financing to solar developers in emerging markets, earning interest on capital deployed while achieving social and environmental impact objectives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

TRINE operates an impact investing platform that provides debt financing to solar developers in emerging markets, enabling zero-upfront-cost solar deployments through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) structures. The company channels capital from investors to renewable energy projects in markets such as Kenya and Vietnam, supporting portfolio companies in delivering electricity at significantly reduced rates compared to local grid tariffs.

Product overview

Trine operates as a single-platform offering focused on impact investing in renewable energy. The platform facilitates financing for solar energy projects across emerging markets, including Kenya and Vietnam, by connecting institutional and individual investors with solar developers requiring capital. The offering centers on providing zero-upfront cost solar solutions through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) models, enabling commercial, industrial, and institutional energy users to access solar power at rates below local grid tariffs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trine Impact Investing Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Solar electricity at 50% below prevailing KPLC grid tariffs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• SunFunder: SunFunder is a solar finance marketplace providing debt capital to distributed solar companies in Africa and emerging markets, directly overlapping with Trine's PPA-backed solar lending model and target geographies.
• Sun Exchange: Sun Exchange is a peer-to-peer solar leasing platform that funds distributed solar projects in Africa and other emerging markets, sharing Trine's zero-upfront-cost model and impact-investor customer base.
• Energise Africa: Energise Africa is a crowdfunding platform that channels retail and institutional capital into solar and clean-energy businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa, mirroring Trine's mission and underlying deal-flow geography.
• Lendahand: Lendahand is a Dutch impact investing platform that crowdfunds loans for renewable energy and small-business projects in emerging markets, comparable to Trine as a European-rooted, retail-accessible EM impact-lending marketplace.
• Ethex: Ethex is a UK-based positive-impact investment platform offering bonds and shares for renewable energy and social enterprises, comparable to Trine in serving retail impact investors financing climate projects.
• Bettervest: Bettervest is a German crowdfunding platform specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy project finance, with a similar European-rooted, impact-investor customer model to Trine's solar lending business.

Emerging players

• Sun King: Sun King is a leading pay-as-you-go solar home systems provider in East Africa and Asia; while Trine finances developers rather than sells products, Sun King overlaps as a solar access player in overlapping markets.

Broad incumbents

• Kiva: Kiva is a large established crowdfunding platform for microloans including solar and clean energy in emerging markets, comparable to Trine as a broader retail-impact lender with longer operating history.
• Acumen: Acumen is a global impact investor providing patient capital to early-stage companies addressing poverty; it overlaps with Trine as a broader impact-finance actor in EM clean energy, though not a peer-to-peer lending platform.
• Climate Fund Managers: Climate Fund Managers is a blended-finance fund manager focused on climate mitigation and adaptation projects in emerging markets, comparable to Trine as an institutional capital provider in EM renewables, though at larger scale.

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jointrine
• Facebookfacebook.com/jointrine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments17 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TRINE