Original source: Triple Jump
Announcing the launch of the US$120 million Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund to provide affordable access to energy for homes and businesses
Shell Foundation, a UK-registered charity, together with FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, announces the launch of the US$120 million Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), with an initial close of US$45 million, providing catalytic financing for early to growth stage companies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) operating in the access to energy ecosystem.
Triple Jump, an Amsterdam based leading impact-focused investment manager, will act as portfolio manager and Persistent, a Zurich based venture and private equity firm with expertise in the off-grid sector, will serve as investment advisor to the fund. Enclude, a Palladium company, advised on the structuring and execution of the fund.
Recent OECD research shows SSA has the lowest access to energy rates in the world, with 600 million people lacking electricity and over 125 million households lacking access to modern energy services. Such energy poverty has dire effects on economic growth and sustainable development. Access to energy is a requisite to elevating living conditions and allowing for development and expansion of economic activities in rural Africa.
The fund is designed to provide patient, flexible capital combined with technical assistance that is currently lacking in the off-grid energy ecosystem. It will finance more than 25 companies and predominantly provides mezzanine structures as well as equity and debt investments through tailored solutions to meet the changing needs of growing energy companies. With a fund life of 12 years, EEGF provides a longer investment holding and support period, recognizing the inherent need for such businesses in emerging economies to unlock value creation to their stakeholders.
Click here to read more.
