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Actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio
Photo: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images
The "Princeville Climate Technology" investment fund, which is supported and financed by actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, has invested in a German company for the first time.
Specifically, the fund, which specializes in green technologies, invested a mid-single-digit million amount in the Berlin start-up Enpal, which specializes in the rental of solar systems.
In the past few days, the company has already completed a financing round with several prominent donors from the German start-up scene.
According to the company, Zalando board members Rubin Ritter, David Schneider and Robert Gentz invested "several million" in the company.
Lukasz Gadowski, one of the inventors of the Berlin delivery giant and Dax newcomer Delivery Hero, is one of the investors, as is Alexander Samwer, co-founder of the startup forge Rocket Internet.
Solar systems by subscription
Founded in 2017, Enpal claims that it has around 5000 customers and is now the largest provider of solar solutions for homeowners in Germany.
The start-up offers systems on a monthly subscription to keep investment costs low for potential buyers.
After 20 years, the panels can be taken over for a symbolic euro.
Enpal currently employs around 400 people nationwide.
The business model is modeled on the USA, where the rental of solar systems has established itself as the standard solution.
Around 90 percent of the solar systems on US private roofs come from leasing providers, and the segment is also growing in Germany.
During the pandemic, says founder coal, the demand for his systems "doubled", in the coming year he is planning to have around 10,000 customers.
Pre-financing as a risk
The founder wants to use the fresh capital from Silicon Valley to drive new business areas and grow faster.
It's not without risk.
Enpal guarantees its customers constant prices for the entire contract period, the expensive systems that Enpal does not build itself are pre-financed through bank loans.
Berliner Volksbank and Deutsche Kreditbank recently increased the start-up's refinancing volume to more than 120 million euros.
Leonardo DiCaprio has been part of the Princeville Climate Technology investment fund since the beginning of 2019, but had previously acted as a financier of green start-ups.
Among other things, he invested in the sustainable mattress mail order company Casper and the company Allbirds, which sells environmentally friendly woolen shoes.
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