cKers Finance | Climate Debt Financing for Clean Energy

Climate Finance

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 – Climate Action, SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy

Company Overview

cKers Finance (pronounced “seekers”) is a sustainability-focused non-banking financial company headquartered in New Delhi. It provides debt to businesses working in decentralized renewable energy, electric mobility, energy efficiency and resource efficiency, and it publishes a Fair Practices Code aligned with Reserve Bank of India guidelines for NBFCs.

The company was launched in 2017 as a specialist lender intended to bring mainstream debt into segments that conventional lenders often find hard to underwrite, such as small-scale distributed energy projects and early-stage climate ventures. It describes its work as developing new financing instruments for the sustainability space and building data on risk metrics in those segments.

Its borrowers include developers, asset owners, fleet operators, equipment manufacturers and system integrators. Facilities announced publicly since 2021 include a working capital line for electric three-wheeler maker Altigreen, a debt facility for SUN Mobility’s battery-swapping based electric vehicle model, a USD 1 million facility linked to Gradiant’s industrial wastewater recycling and reuse project, and an INR 60 million facility for electric fleet operator Magenta Mobility. It has also extended debt to VoltUp, a battery swapping company.

The management team combines corporate, rural and agricultural banking experience with venture capital and entrepreneurial backgrounds. The board includes representatives of cKinetics, a sustainability advisory firm, and New Energy Nexus, a clean energy support organization.

Why These SDGs Matter

SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy, is directly relevant because the company lends to distributed solar, energy storage and energy efficiency projects. These facilities fund the physical assets that expand clean energy supply and reduce energy demand.

SDG 13, Climate Action, applies because its lending targets electric vehicle fleets, battery swapping infrastructure, cold chain decarbonization and rooftop solar, all of which displace fossil fuel use. By financing these assets, the company channels debt toward emissions reduction in transport and industry.

SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, is supported through water efficiency lending and its financing linked to an industrial wastewater recycling and reuse project. Treated water reuse reduces freshwater withdrawal by industrial users, which connects the company's loans to water management outcomes.

Products & Services
  • Electric vehicle fleet loans against deployment cash flows
  • Energy storage loans for battery assets
  • Working capital loans for cleantech equipment manufacturers
  • Rooftop solar loans for SME and C&I projects
  • SME resource efficiency loans for energy and water projects
  • Growth debt for early-stage cleantech companies
  • Electric three-wheeler loans for cargo operators and drivers
Business Challenges Solved
  • Limited access to debt for early-stage cleantech companies
  • Working capital gaps for cleantech manufacturers between order and delivery
  • High upfront capital cost of deploying electric vehicle fleets
  • Difficulty making small-scale distributed solar projects financeable
  • Funding industrial energy and water efficiency retrofits without property collateral
  • Capital needs of battery swapping and energy storage infrastructure
  • Vehicle finance for independent electric cargo operators and small fleets
Approach & Methodology

cKers Finance lends against the cash flows generated by the assets or businesses it finances, and secures facilities against the financed assets. Its published materials describe segment-specific debt instruments, with separate products for electric vehicle fleets, energy storage, cleantech manufacturers' working capital, rooftop solar, resource efficiency projects and growth-stage companies.

Underwriting uses customized frameworks developed for decentralized renewable energy, electric mobility and resource efficiency. The company states that it looks for borrowers with an operating track record, demonstrated unit-level economics and a commitment to impact reporting. It also describes an ability to partner as a co-developer on projects, in addition to acting as a lender.

The Fair Practices Code sets out the loan process. Applicants receive an indicative term sheet before sanction, followed by a sanction letter stating the amount, interest rate, repayment period and penal interest. Loan agreements are executed and shared with the borrower before disbursement, and changes to terms are notified in advance.

After disbursement, the company may apply an operationally intensive review process for early-stage borrowers, communicated upfront. Repossession and enforcement rights are written into loan contracts, and borrowers can escalate unresolved grievances from the company's Grievance Redressal Officer to the Reserve Bank of India's non-banking supervision department.

The company also states that it is building data on risk metrics in these segments, which informs how it structures loan terms to match borrower cash flows.

Market Position

cKers Finance operates as a specialist NBFC in India's sustainability lending segment, with a focus on small and mid-sized clean energy and mobility businesses rather than large utility-scale projects. Its stated client base includes early-stage and relatively small businesses, energy service companies and corporate borrowers.

Its positioning rests on sector specialization, products tailored to each asset class, and lending structured around asset cash flows. It also offers co-development partnerships alongside debt. Data platforms list Ecofy among comparable companies in green finance.

Public announcements show a concentration in electric mobility, with additional activity in energy storage, battery swapping and water technology.

Procurement Considerations
  • Confirm borrower fit: operating track record, unit-level economics and willingness to commit to impact reporting
  • Verify the company’s RBI NBFC registration and review its Fair Practices Code before engagement
  • Compare sanction terms, including interest rate, tenor, penal interest and prepayment or foreclosure charges
  • Check the security structure, since facilities are secured against financed assets and cash flows, and review repossession terms
  • Match loan tenor to the asset’s cash flow profile, for example vehicle fleets, storage or rooftop solar
  • Plan resources for post-disbursement monitoring and impact reporting
  • Review the lending partners behind its facilities to understand funding continuity
  • Note the grievance redressal route, including escalation to the RBI
Funding, Recognition & Ecosystem
  • Recipient of the PACEsetter Fund Award, a fund jointly capitalized by the Indian and US governments and administered by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum
  • Selected as an ImpactAssets 50 Emerging Impact Manager for 2022 and 2023
  • Investor: New Energy Nexus
  • Listed investors and partners: cKinetics, CIIE (IIM Ahmedabad), California Clean Energy Fund and the US International Development Finance Corporation
  • Board representation from cKinetics and New Energy Nexus
Natnavi Analysis

cKers Finance matters because small-scale clean energy and mobility businesses in India often struggle to obtain debt on terms that match their asset economics. A lender that structures loans around asset cash flows and builds sector-specific underwriting knowledge addresses a recognized financing gap in distributed renewable energy and electric mobility.

The company's contribution is on the capital side rather than the technology side. Its sustainability impact depends on the performance of the borrowers and assets it funds, such as electric fleets, storage systems and efficiency projects. Public announcements show facilities to named operators and manufacturers since 2021, supported by recognition from ImpactAssets and the PACEsetter Fund.

Strengths include a clearly segmented product range, published lending practices under the Fair Practices Code, and ecosystem links to cKinetics, New Energy Nexus and international development finance organizations.

Points for readers to weigh include the concentration of announced facilities in electric mobility and the dependence of impact outcomes on borrower performance, which should be assessed separately from the lender's own reporting.

Sources & References
Website
Founded: 2017
Company Stage: SME
Headquarters
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Geographic Presence
cKers Finance is headquartered in New Delhi and concentrates on the Indian market. Its debt facilities have been extended to companies deploying clean energy and mobility assets across the country. Its electric three-wheeler loan offering is listed for Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Kanpur, Agra and Mumbai, with an option for other cities.
Solution Type
Investment Manager / Capital Provider
Sustainability Outcomes
Carbon Reduction, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Adoption, Resource Efficiency, Transport Decarbonization, Water Conservation
Industries Served
Agriculture & Food, Automotive & Electric Mobility, Battery and Energy Storage, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics
Last Reviewed: October 6, 2026

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