- Inspired Evolution, a private equity firm based in Cape Town, South Africa, has announced $199.4 million in commitments from a number of international funders to finance the energy transition in Africa.
One of the greatest obstacles to the growth of renewable energy in Africa is access to funding. Through its Evolution III fund, which just completed its first financial closure with $199.4 million in conditional commitments from seven foreign investors, portfolio manager Inspired Evolution seeks to overcome this challenge.
These include Swedfund International, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (FinnFund), the Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund (EMCAF), and the Netherlands Development Finance Corporation (FMO).
Energy access, resource efficiency, renewable energy, and other initiatives are all funded by the Evolution III fund, which has its domicile in Mauritius. It also makes investments in African businesses. A $400 million capitalization is the goal of its manager, Inspired Evolution. The 12- to 18-month window for achieving this objective is given to the Cape Town, South Africa-based corporation.
With its many funds, Inspired Evolution has boosted its investments in renewable energy throughout Africa in recent years. For instance, the Mubuga solar photovoltaic plant in Burundi, which has been in operation since October 2021, received $7.3 million from its Evolution II fund, which reached a financial close in 2019. The plant has a 7.5 MWp capacity and provides 10% of the country’s electricity.