Pentagreen Capital Commits $50 Million to Fund Candi Solar's 400 MW Clean Energy Push Across India

Pentagreen Capital and Candi Solar are addressing the gap in renewable energy access for small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 31% of India's Gross Domestic Product and 35% of its manufacturing output, yet remain underserved.

Financing to support 400 MWp clean energy expansion

This gap is the target of a USD 50 million financing partnership announced on 5 November 2026 between the Singapore-based sustainable infrastructure debt platform and the clean energy company specializing in distributed solar for commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses.

The facility will fund approximately 400 MWp of solar and battery energy storage projects across India and is intended to underpin Candi's ambition to more than double its total capacity to exceed 1 GW within the next 24 months.

560 GWh a year for 227 customers

The financed projects will span rooftop, ground-mounted, and open-access solar installations paired with battery energy storage systems (BESS) in key business hubs across India.

Together they are expected to deliver 560 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy annually, serving 227 commercial and industrial customers, 78% of which are SMEs. The partnership estimates the projects will avoid approximately 397,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

How Candi's model works

Candi Solar develops and finances solar projects for commercial and industrial customers in India, offering flexible, performance-linked solar and storage solutions built around each client's energy requirements and cost-saving objectives.

Under its turnkey shared-value approach, customers keep their capital and pay only for the clean energy generated, while Candi handles engineering, construction, and long-term operational performance.

This removes the need for upfront capital expenditure and allows SMEs to integrate clean energy into existing operations. The company says the solutions can also help businesses manage energy costs and reduce exposure to swings in diesel and grid electricity prices.

Fabio Eucalipto, Co-founder and Director of Candi Solar, said the climate crisis demands a transition that reaches beyond large corporations to the millions of smaller businesses that power India's economy and drive its industrial growth. These companies, he argued, should benefit from clean, reliable energy without having to master energy complexities or make major capital commitments.

He described the Pentagreen partnership as "an important milestone and the first building block in our next phase of growth," adding that, alongside recent additional shareholder commitments and an equity round planned for early next year, the capital will help the company accelerate towards installing more than 1 GW of operational solar capacity within 24 months, "bringing clean energy to hundreds more businesses across India."

Pentagreen's strategic rationale

Marat Zapparov, CEO of Pentagreen Capital, placed the deal in the context of India's broader energy needs. India's growing energy demand and need to reduce oil imports make the transition to clean energy both a strategic and an economic priority, he said.

Pentagreen, operating under Singapore's Financing Asia's Transition Partnership (FAST-P) initiative, is partnering with Candi because of its flexible solar and storage solutions tailored to Indian SMEs. The partnership, he said, unlocks finance for projects that make clean energy accessible to an underserved segment, help businesses stabilise energy costs, and strengthen India's energy security.

Pentagreen Capital is headquartered in Singapore and was established by HSBC and Temasek as a sustainable infrastructure debt financing platform dedicated to accelerating sustainable infrastructure across Asia.

The company aims to unlock capital flows where they are most needed, bridge gaps in Asia's infrastructure financing, and open new infrastructure opportunities to investors.

The FAST-P structure behind the deal

Pentagreen pursues a blended finance strategy under FAST-P, a Singapore-led initiative developed in collaboration with global public, private, and philanthropic partners.

The strategy focuses on Southeast Asia with an allocation to South Asia, providing debt finance for renewable energy and storage, electric vehicle infrastructure, sustainable transport, water and waste management, data infrastructure, and other green infrastructure sectors.

The FAST-P strategy is backed by Pentagreen Capital, the FAST-P Office under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Australian Government represented by Export Finance Australia, the International Finance Corporation, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), HSBC, Temasek, British International Investment, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Allied Climate Partners, DBS, and Cathay United Bank.

The European Commission supports the strategy under its Global Gateway programme.

The emissions case for financing India's SMEs

The announcement, citing Indian public policy think tank NITI Aayog and its "Roadmap for Green Transition of MSMEs," notes that SMEs in India account for roughly 135 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂e) of emissions annually, largely from fossil fuel-based energy use.

Channeling capital into this underserved segment will be key to accelerating the country's energy transition.

That transition sits within a wider national framework. India has set a target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, up from 300 GW as of August 2026, and is promoting battery energy storage to deepen decarbonisation of its power sector.

The USD 50 million facility ties Singapore-backed blended finance to that agenda, directing funds towards distributed solar and storage for C&I customers in South Asia and giving Candi Solar the first block of capital for a growth phase intended to carry it past 1 GW of operational capacity within two years.