AFRICA – CrossBoundary Energy (CBE), a leading developer, owner, and operator of commercial and industrial renewable energy systems in Africa, has announced completion of a US$40 million equity investment.
This commitment will allow CrossBoundary Energy to further scale its investments in renewable energy solutions for commercial and industrial businesses (C&I) across Africa.
The investment was from Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries, and KLP, Norway’s largest pension company, through their joint company KLP Norfund Investments AS.
It is a continuation of Norfund and KLP’s earlier investments in the C&I sector and endorses the scale and maturity of the distributed generation sector in Africa.
The secured funding is in addition to US$40 million in equity invested in CrossBoundary Energy by ARCH Emerging Markets’ Africa Renewable Power Fund in 2020.
“We are very excited to welcome Norfund and KLP as investors. Their commitment is aligned with our belief that the business sector across Africa should be able to benefit from cheaper, cleaner and more reliable power,” Pieter Joubert, President and Chief Investment Officer, CrossBoundary Energy said.
“This investment validates CrossBoundary Energy’s position as a trusted provider of customer-centric renewable energy solutions to the African business community.
“We look forward to drawing on Norfund’s significant experience as seek to deliver an operational portfolio of over US$300 million in assets within the next 5 years.”
CrossBoundary Energy provides tailored, fully financed renewable energy solutions to its corporate customers allowing them to avoid upfront capital expenditure and technical risks, whilst still benefitting from cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable power.
“We believe that distributed renewables are playing a critical role in driving towards the clean and sustainable growth of the commercial and industrial sector across Africa,” Kristoffer Valvik, Investment Manager, Norfund, said.
“The cost savings offered by renewable energy, coupled with the reliability of battery energy storage systems, allows companies like CrossBoundary Energy to provide the business sector with immediate cost savings whilst significantly reducing their emissions, and creating employment in the renewable energy sector.
“CrossBoundary Energy has secured a leading portfolio of high-quality assets and we are excited to support them as they continue to scale.”
CrossBoundary Energy is currently delivering a portfolio of US$188 million in projects for 30 corporate customers across 14 countries in Africa, comprising 150 MWp of solar PV assets, 50 MWh of battery energy storage assets, and 12 MW of wind assets.
“We are pleased to support the further development of CrossBoundary Energy’s portfolio of distributed renewable energy systems and are confident that its strong business practices will boost sustainable economic development on the African continent and deliver stable and predictable returns for KLPs owners,” Aage Schaanning, Group Chief Financial Officer, KLP, said.
CrossBoundary Energy is the renewable energy provider of choice for a number of market-leading companies present in Africa, including Unilever, Diageo, Rio Tinto, Heineken, and AB InBev.
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