Asset management firm Eiffel Investment Group joined forces with investment advisory firm Finergreen to set up a financing mechanism for electrification and energy transition in Africa. Initially, the fund will mobilize $200 million for renewable energy professionals.

Finergreen helps renewable energy developers find and implement financing solutions and has completed more than 150 transactions since inception. Having established offices on every continent, Finergreen covers Africa through its three offices located respectively in Abidjan, Nairobi, and Cape Town and which are staffed by 15 dedicated experienced professionals. Finergreen supports Eiffel Investment Group through project sourcing, investment analysis, and asset monitoring.

Damien Ricordeau, Founder and CEO of Finergreen, and Pierre-Antoine Machelon said, ''We are delighted to bring together a leading asset manager and a leading financial advisor with the aim to meeting an urgent demand for bridge financing in Africa, where Finergreen opened its first international office in 2016.''

Considering that today more than half of the population of Africa does not have access to electricity, the deployment of new generation capacity, especially renewable energy plants, is a critical challenge for the coming decades. Access to energy is the fundamental starting point for economic and social development in Africa, noting especially that the population is going to continue to grow significantly. Within four years, Eiffel Investment Group aims to fund enough projects to bring renewable electricity to an equivalent of two million consumers on the continent.

Looking beyond its ability to accelerate the development of the project pipeline, this new financing solution will also bring with it many other external benefits relating to job creation and the general improvement in living conditions for communities. As an impact investor, Eiffel Investment Group has put at the heart of its corporate strategy the goal of creating positive environmental and social impacts along with being a leader in financial innovation. These goals are clearly set out in Eiffel Investment Group’s ESG-Climate strategy published in May 2021. In this respect, funding renewable energy projects in Africa fits perfectly into the roadmap that has been set out.

The Eiffel Investment Group investment platform (approximately 75 staff of which two thirds investment professionals) has been reinforced for this initiative. Alan Follmar and Pierrick Paindavoine, each of whom has more than 20 years of financing and investment experience in developing countries, have joined the team to lead the African strategy of Eiffel Investment Group.

The teams diligently measure non-financial impacts generated by their bridge funding solutions in Africa. With this in mind, renewable energy output, equivalent tonnes of CO2 avoided, the number of new persons supplied with electricity, or even the number of educational and social programmes supported by the projects that have been financed and commissioned will be monitored and reported. The level of protection of biodiversity will also be tracked.

Fabrice Dumonteil, Founder and CEO of Eiffel Investment Group said, ''Our goal of generating greater positive impacts through our investments is particularly well illustrated with this initiative, because the issues related to electrification and energy transition in Africa will be crucial over the next 20 years, as it will also be for Europe and the rest of the world.''

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