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MIGA has issued guarantees worth $37.1m for the African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 (AIIF3) and the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (EIF-OGEF LP).
- This guarantee covers Bboxx investments in Africa.
- This guarantee is expected to strengthen Bboxx’s operations and support its expansion on the continent.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has issued guarantees for the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM)’s African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 (AIIF3) and the African Development Bank’s Energy Inclusion Facility’s Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (EIF-OGEF LP). This guarantee covers investments in solar home systems (SHS) company Bboxx in various African countries.
The World Bank subsidiary has issued a guarantee of $37.1m for the African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 (AIIF3). This guarantee covers AIIF3’s equity and quasi-equity/shareholder loan investments in Bboxx’s subsidiaries in Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This guarantee has a maximum term of 10 years. For the Energy Inclusion Facility Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (EIF-OGEF LP), MIGA issued a guarantee of $5.9 million. The EIF-OEF LP is a $100 million financing facility initiated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and finances off-grid electrification across the continent.
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MIGA states that both guarantees will cover the risks of currency inconvertibility and transfer restrictions, expropriation, war and civil unrest. MIGA believes that this will strengthen Bboxx’s operations and enable the expansion of the company’s clean energy services. “This will greatly enhance economic opportunities in rural areas with low electrification rates. Increased electrification reduces the burden of collecting traditional fuels (wood) and indoor air pollution, both of which disproportionately affect the health and productivity of women and children,” MIGA explains.
Bboxx distributes SHS for households in rural areas in a pay-as-you-go service model. The company has recently increased its services in central and east Africa. Bboxx believes that ist solar solutions will not only increase access to electricity but also reduce carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuel-powered lighting lamps with solar-powered lamps. Bboxx also provides clean cookers that aim to reduce deforestation ultimately.