Clime Capital and Touchstone Partners back Vietnam-based solar cleantech platform Stride in US$ 2 million seed round
The investment capital will accelerate Stride’s capacity to provide low-cost, clean energy solutions for residential and small business consumers in Vietnam.
Singapore, 24 May 2023 — Clime Capital and Touchstone Partners today announced a joint investment into Stride, an innovative cleantech company operating in Vietnam with a mission to accelerate Vietnam’s low carbon transition by providing households and small businesses with eco-friendly home improvement projects, smart home technology, energy-efficient products and access to solar energy.
Stride helps residential and small business consumers take the next step toward a clean energy future with an affordable, transparent, and simple way to pay for eco-friendly home improvement projects and solar installations at the point of sale with 0% interest.
In the last two years, Stride has experienced rapid growth as the first company in Vietnam to offer low, upfront-cost financing, complimentary insurance, independent quality assurance, and a streamlined online consumer onboarding process. Stride has received increasing interest from residential and small business consumers who want to shift to lower-cost clean energy to reduce energy costs. Stride addresses this interest with a commercial solution that removes the barrier to high up-front costs.
Stride was founded by a founding team with collectively 40+ years of deep experience working in the financial industry, both internationally and in Vietnam. Andrew Fairthorne (Stride's CEO) and Leo Polojac (Stride's COO) each has over 20 years of experience in risk management at multinational banks like HSBC, Citibank, Commonwealth Bank. Tra Le (Stride's CTO) has over 15 years working at Unlimited Solutions and Harvey Nash Vietnam.
Having seen first-hand the tremendous focus and growth of green financing in the banking industry in United States and Australia, Stride's founding team saw an opportunity to leverage their skills and bridge that gap in Vietnam. By utilizing their experience in finance and technology and through collaborating with solar construction companies, Stride built a completely unique digital platform that allows customers to obtain an instant pre-approval to pay for solar installations in easy installments.
Andrew Fairthorne, Chief Executive Officer at Stride, said, “Stride is excited to partner with Clime Capital and Touchstone Partners to support Vietnam’s low carbon transition. The investment enables Stride to accelerate its deployment of clean energy solutions to more households and small businesses across Vietnam, thus reducing their energy expenses and assisting Vietnam in achieving its net zero targets.”
Joshua Kramer, Chief Investment Officer at Clime Capital, said, “SEACEF’s investment in Stride will support the company’s growth at a critical stage of its development to set Stride on an accelerated pathway to scale its delivery of clean energy solutions. Stride’s effort to provide quality assurance and financing to residential and small business customers reduces barriers to adoption of rooftop solar and other clean energy solutions, enabling its customers to save money while reducing their carbon footprint.”
Tu Ngo, General Partner at Touchstone Partners, shared: “We place a priority on investing in promising startups that are developing solutions to help address climate change, and we are excited to partner with Stride and support their vision to facilitate Vietnam’s transition to a sustainable future. Vietnam’s recent approval of Power Development Plan 8, which encourages homes and businesses to install solar systems for self consumption, makes Stride’s solutions all the more relevant and timely. By making green energy projects for households and small businesses more accessible and affordable, Stride is enabling more people to contribute to Vietnam reaching its goal of becoming carbon net neutral and, just as importantly, save money on their own electricity costs in the process.”