Norwegian investment company Empower New Energy is raising $74 million to finance the solarisation of businesses in Africa. The funds have been raised from several impact investors.
Empower New Energy is securing funding to expand its activities in Africa. It is 74 million dollars raised from a consortium of impact investors. This was part of a funding round led by Climate Fund Managers (CFM), the manager of Climate Investor One (CIO). The initiative is also supported by the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (NORFUND) and the investment company Janeiro Energy AS.
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) has also been involved in setting up the Empower investment platform. The same applies to the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), a financing mechanism managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). With this capital, Empower intends to provide solar energy to more than 50 companies in Africa. Over the next three years, the company will also leverage the platform set up by CFM, NORFUND, NORAD and SEFA to invest a further $100 million through loans.
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The company aims to develop, build, own and operate more than 150 MW of solar projects, including battery storage systems. Empower estimates that its investments will generate 249 GWh of clean electricity per year, avoiding emissions of 200,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the same period. “In much of Africa, businesses tend to pay 25-50% more for electricity than elsewhere in the world,” notes Terje Osmundsen, founder and CEO of Empower New Energy.
In addition to financing and supplying clean energy to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, the Oslo, Norway-based investment company also plans to allocate 1% of project revenues to a community development programme, focusing on initiatives that will have a significant impact on socially disadvantaged communities in its markets. This will reinforce its eco-responsible approach.
Jean Marie Takouleu
