Solar funding, South Africa
There are three ways to fund solar. You can only use some of them.
Which ones depends on a single question — whether you will own the system — and most people are told to answer it last. Answering it first is what stops you spending three weeks on a grant you were never eligible for.
Two minutes, free, and non-binding. Every answer carries a route, including the ones that rule a programme out.
Two minutes, no sign-up
What can you actually get?
Answer a few questions and see which grants, finance structures and tax positions are open to you — and which are closed, and why. Nothing is sent anywhere.
First: do you want to own the system?
This one question decides more than your industry does. Grants and the Section 12B allowance both require ownership.
What kind of business are you?
Answer the first two and the rest appears.
Grants, on balance sheet, or off balance sheet.
Grants & blended finance
Government and DFI money, part of it never repaid. The cheapest capital available and the slowest to arrive — months, a heavy document pack, and in the agricultural case one application per applicant, ever. You own the system and claim the tax allowance.
On balance sheet: asset finance
Asset finance or an instalment sale, at prime plus one to four, over three to seven years. Days to weeks rather than months. The plant sits on your balance sheet from day one, you own it, and the Section 12B allowance is yours on the full cost.
Off balance sheet: PPA, rent-to-own, rental, subscription
Somebody else owns the plant during the term and you pay for the output or the use of it. No capital, nothing on your balance sheet, no tax appetite required — and no allowance either, because the provider takes it. Always available, which is why it is the fallback for every grant exclusion.
The rule that decides it
If you do not own the system you cannot claim Section 12B, and you cannot receive an Agro Energy Fund or GTIP grant. All three require ownership. A PPA or rent-to-own is the trade: no capital, no tax claim.
Side by side, once.
| Grant + blended | Asset finance | PPA / rent-to-own | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront capital | Nil | Nil to 10% deposit | Nil |
| Non-repayable portion | 30% to 90%, capped | None | None |
| Ownership | You, day one | You, day one | The provider |
| Section 12B claim | Yes, yours | Yes, yours | No — the provider claims it |
| Rate | Market related | Prime +1% to +4% | Embedded in the tariff |
| Time to funding | Months | Days to weeks | Weeks |
| Documentation | Heavy | Moderate | Light |
| Blocks a second application | Yes (AEF) | No | No |
| Best for | Capex-able, taxpaying | Owners who want the asset | No capex, no tax appetite, bodies corporate |
Start with what you are.
Not with which fund you have heard of. Programmes come and go; what you are does not.
Two minutes, free, and non-binding. Every answer carries a route, including the ones that rule a programme out.
Across Southern Africa
Built for deals that cross a border.
Your bank, in your country
Pick the deal’s country and the application pack follows that country’s configuration — ready for a bank submission there.
USD structures, regional reach
PPA and rental structures are available USD-denominated, and our PPA and rent-to-own lenders have funding availability across the region.
One platform, same flow
Quote in, financial proposal out, offers back — the funnel is identical wherever the site is.
Before you rely on any of this
ArkFlow is not accredited by, empanelled with, or appointed as an agent of Land Bank, the IDC, DALRRD, the Department of Tourism, SEDFA or the NEF. Government and DFI programmes are applied for by you. We help you prepare and submit; you remain the applicant.
ArkFlow is not a financial services provider and does not give financial advice, and is not a registered tax practitioner. Nothing on this page is a quote, an offer of finance, an approval, or a recommendation to enter into any credit agreement.
Programme terms, grant availability and application windows change without notice. Figures shown are indicative and depend on the administering institution’s own assessment and on funds available at the time. Where a programme runs in windows we will not describe it as open unless a current window is confirmed.