The best innovations don’t just create new technology; they expand access. In the Philippines, solar has long been seen as a luxury for the well-to-do. SunFund is flipping that script, turning solar into an everyday utility that any family can afford—no heavy upfront costs, just a predictable monthly bill that’s cheaper than what they already pay.
The Philippines has among the highest electricity prices in Southeast Asia, with households paying more than double their peers in Vietnam and Indonesia. Costs have risen 4–10% annually over the past decade, straining families already contending with inflation. And while solar technology is now far cheaper—global panel and battery prices have dropped 70–90% over the last decade—adoption at home remains modest, with less than 1% penetration in the residential market.
The problem isn’t the availability of technology, which has arguably become a commodity. Rather, the problem is one of access and financing. Filipino homeowners face upfront installation costs of ₱250,000 to over ₱1 million, and the banking sector offers only short-term, high-interest personal loans that are misaligned with solar’s longer payback. As a result, solar remains perceived as a luxury rather than an accessible utility upgrade, despite its potential to cut household electricity bills by 30–40%.
SunFund is transforming solar from a luxury product into an everyday household service. Through a “solar-as-a-service” model, they provide Filipino homeowners with fixed monthly subscriptions over 3–20 years—rates designed to be lower than their historical electricity bills. SunFund handles the entire process end-to-end: financing, installation via EPC partners, operations, maintenance, and billing, all streamlined through their mobile app.
In effect, SunFund is positioning solar as a bill-replacing service: affordable, predictable, and sustainable in more ways than one. Their model echoes the success of U.S. pioneer SunRun, which went public in 2015 and now has a $4B market cap, proving that subscription-based solar platforms can generate venture-scale outcomes.
Several forces are converging to make this the right moment for SunFund’s model:
Ultimately, what sets SunFund apart is not just their model, but the team executing it.
CEO John Altomonte brings deep climate and energy experience, previously leading Verne Energy Solutions and advising WWF.
CFO Carlos Muñoz brings underwriting and finance expertise, critical for scaling a debt-intensive model.
Together with COO Jaime Regalado Iñigo and strategic partner William Chiongbian III, the team combines domain expertise, financial discipline, and strong networks in both energy and logistics.
Operationally, SunFund already has zero defaults across its first 50+ projects (residential and commercial) and a growing pipeline of EPC partners. Their underwriting based on power bill payment patterns provides a more accurate risk profile than traditional credit scores.
We were also impressed by customer feedback: households cite SunFund’s financing model as the main driver for adoption and report savings exceeding expectations, all through a seamless app-driven experience.
SunFund has the potential to become a foundational layer of distributed energy in the Philippines, lowering barriers to adoption, aggregating residential demand, and ultimately serving as the financing bridge for future add-ons like batteries, EV charging, and smart home integrations.
At Kaya, we back founders who rethink industries, not just iterate on them. SunFund’s vision to make solar a mainstream utility service rather than a luxury product has the potential to reshape the way Filipino households power their lives.
We’re proud to be backing SunFund as they build a future where clean, affordable energy is not the exception, but the default.
