Berlin's Bees & Bears Raises €5M for Green Financing
The Bees & Bears founders, Marius Schondelmaier and Jakob von Egidy - © Oumou Aidara
Berlin-based climate fintech Bees & Bears has raised €5 million in seed funding from Extantia and Contrarian Ventures, building on a €2 million pre-seed round from 2024. The company is tackling one of the biggest barriers to renewable energy adoption: upfront costs.
According to information from Extantia's announcement, Bees & Bears has secured a €500 million financing framework from a major European bank, positioning the startup to finance approximately 25,000 solar panels, heat pumps, and battery storage systems over the next two years.
The problem is straightforward: while renewable technologies like solar panels and heat pumps are often cheaper to operate over their lifetime compared to fossil fuel alternatives, many homeowners and small businesses struggle with the high initial investment. Traditional bank financing is slow and complicated, causing countless viable projects to stall.
Bees & Bears addresses this by embedding financing directly at the point of sale. When customers purchase a solar system or heat pump from an installer, they can immediately spread the cost over monthly instalments—often replacing higher fossil fuel operating costs with lower clean energy payments.
The model benefits all parties involved. Homeowners reduce their monthly energy costs without large upfront payments. Installers can expand their customer base, close contracts faster, and compete with industry giants like Enpal. Meanwhile, banks and investors gain access to a growing asset class backed by verified real assets that helps them meet green lending targets.
Founded in 2023, the Berlin company has streamlined the customer journey to eliminate friction from the buying process. The onboarding takes just minutes for both installers and customers, and the €500 million financing framework allows Bees & Bears to offer highly competitive terms.
The company's ambition extends beyond residential applications. Founders Jakob and Marius envision Bees & Bears as the financing layer for the entire energy transition—from EV chargers to batteries to whatever clean technologies emerge next. Whether serving individual households or companies, Bees & Bears aims to make financing distributed energy assets simple and accessible.
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