“Clear” to combine the terms Climate, Energy Access and Resilience. This is the new investment vehicle set up by InfraCo Africa and Helios Investment Partners. The eventual goal is to finance infrastructure and businesses with climate-aligned growth while working to achieve the UN-governed development goals (SDGs). With a portfolio of $350 million, the financing facility will target specific sectors, including clean energy, transportation and green mobility, sustainable growth and consumption.
It will invest in sustainable infrastructure and businesses that will generate 100,000 jobs and provide access to electricity for one million people on the African continent. The vehicle is expected to avoid emissions of 100 million tons of carbon. According to its shareholders, the new investment vehicle will also offer project developers the opportunity to recycle their development finance and at the same time accelerate access to clean and inclusive infrastructure for Africans.
Investments in energy and sustainable mobility
According to InfraCo Africa CEO Gilles Vaes, the launch of this new investment vehicle will close the infrastructure and productivity gap in Africa, which will benefit communities vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Since its creation in 2004, InfraCo Africa has accompanied eighteen projects to financial close. Building on these achievements, the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company decided to work with Helios Investment Partners to explore market challenges and solutions for financing climate-smart infrastructure in emerging markets in Africa.
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Currently, more than 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity and nearly 900 million people lack access to clean cooking fuel. In 2020, for example, with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, energy investments in Africa have dropped by 32%. Faced with this situation, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is calling for more investment in clean energy. This is the objective of the Clear investment vehicle. Its future investments will contribute to energy security and the promotion of the green economy in Africa. The mechanism set up by InfraCo Africa and Helios also aims to encourage mobility and sustainable consumption.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi