This is How Energy Startup SustVest is Redefining Investment in the Future

Climate change scientists are warning the world of widespread & long-term consequences of carbon emissions, but there is immense hope generated by the renewable energy sector, which may change the development trajectory of the countries. The International Energy Agency has already predicted that in 2022 the world will set a new record in its capacity to generate renewable power. However, a massive obstacle in this victory lap of renewable energy could be the slow adoption of this option as a high upfront investment. To overcome this impediment, start-ups like SustVest are writing a new definition of sustainable investment that would allow the world to harness the true potential of this sector and make it a lucrative asset for future generations. 

Sustvest is a sustainable investment platform that allows individuals or companies to invest in renewable energy assets such as rooftop solar or EV charging points, starting with as low a figure as INR 5000. The renewable energy assets generate up to 15% IRR per year for its investors, who hold digital ownership of these assets while these are leased to consumers in return for a monthly rental. The rental income is distributed proportionally among investors.

This company is the brainchild of CEO Hardik Bhatia, who first thought of SustVest when he was in the first year of his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science Engineering from BITS Pilani, which he completed in 2021. He met two of SustVest's Co-Founders, Prasanth Konda and Devansh Shah, and together, the three young men set about changing the investors' perspective toward renewable energy. 

Hardik's father owned a solar energy business, so he was already familiar with the problems being faced by this industry. Besides, he has followed the growth of blockchain technology since 2015, which put him in a unique position to use the new-age tech support to garner funds for renewable energy assets. Hardik has won Abu Dhabi's "Emerging Fintech Talent" award in the MENA region. Hardik and Prasanth have previously worked together on a blockchain-based budgeting system for the Department of Finance, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Prasanth is also a Computer Science Engineer from BITS Pilani and has worked as part of the blockchain research team at Emirates NBD and Oracle as a tech consultant. On the other hand, Devansh Shah, a batchmate of Hardik at BITS Pilani, is an Apple WWDC Scholarship holder who has been associated with Dubizzle (part of OLX) as a devops engineer.

Investing in green energy is insurance for the future of the planet. Therefore, SustVest's mission is "to make green investing affordable and accessible." Talking about this mission further, CEO Hardik says, "The renewable energy assets were earlier exclusively available to Ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices and funds due to minimum ticket size being as high as 1 cr for commercial solar projects." Companies like SustVest are instrumental in changing the status quo. We can empower people and businesses in India to become champions in the race against climate change by working with us in sustaining energy needs through clean means." With no upfront investment and up to 40% savings on electricity unit costs, this is a big win for MSMEs working with tight budgets and don't have the bandwidth to wait for 5-7 years to break even the setup cost.

SustVest's USP is introducing an alternative investment class to retail investors that will positively impact the environment and keep a check on the volatility on returns as the investment is linked to natural resources, in this case, the Sun. The company also claims that renewable energy investment brings back better returns than debt, mutual funds, and FDs. 

After its launch in April '22, the company has onboarded more than 600 investors, and its first rooftop solar asset is already listed. SustVest now aims to onboard 5000 plus investors and generate assets worth more than 10Cr by creating awareness about this lucrative and responsible mode of investment. They plan to add new assets like greenhouses, and small hydro- and wind projects to their portfolio, which would help investors earn a handsome return while also healing the environment at the same time.