Calgary and Montréal-based cleantech startup Solfium might be a Canadian company, but its ambitions lie thousands of kilometres south.
Latin America comprises one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions, and also has some of the lowest levels of solar power in the world. According to research from think tank Ember, solar accounts for only three to four percent of the total electricity production in Latin America and the Caribbean, compared to almost 50 percent in Europe.
"We are at a level of penetration that is so low, so the market opportunity is massive."
This is just one of the reasons that the founders of Solfium, including co-founder and CEO Andres Friedman, see massive potential in this region.
"We are at a level of penetration that is so low, so the market opportunity is massive," Friedman told BetaKit.
Solfium, which has developed a supply chain ecosystem for solar panels aimed to reduce friction for consumers, installers, and component manufacturers, is now working with large corporations, like Scotiabank and Suzuki, to decarbonize their value chains.
Last year represented a big one for the cleantech company. After launching its corporate offering, Solfium closed its first financing round and more than doubled its revenue. Targeting profitability this year, Friedman spoke with BetaKit about his team's blueprint for solarizing Latin America.
An Uber-meets-Amazon for the solar industry
Solfium was founded in 2020 by Friedman, a supply chain expert who previously worked at Bombardier; Calgary-based CFO Zacharie Magnan, a former finance leader in the oil and gas sector; and Juan Osuna, a solar industry veteran.
Friedman said "the three amigos" noticed an opportunity in Latin America to bring a "disruptive, tech-enabled business model" that would facilitate the adoption of solar technologies.
"Latin America has the lowest level of solar penetration, despite ideal conditions and ideal unit economics for the end customer, and so we saw a big opportunity there," he added.
He described Solfium's first iteration as a blend of "Uber plus Amazon" for the residential and commercial solar industry. The platform's "Uber" side includes a managed marketplace for instant solar product quotes, financing options, and an algorithm to match customers with installers. The "Amazon" part addresses solar market fragmentation by partnering with manufacturers, holding inventory in consignment, and managing logistics.
Click here to read the original article by Isabelle Kirkwood in BetaKit.
