AFRICA– Metier, a private equity firm, has received US$113 million in commitments and has called a first close of its second Sustainable Capital Fund, MSC II. The fund will strengthen renewable energy, energy efficiency, water and waste management investments in sub-Saharan Africa.
“MSC II target projects and partners which deliver social and environmental benefits as well as returns on financial capital,” said Marc Immerman, director of Metier.
“For the first time in history the lowest cost and emission energy solutions are aligned which we hope to catalyse with a differentiated strategy tailored for the African environment. Included in the mandate are the sectors of water and waste efficiency which we anticipate will benefit from pent up demand and acute shortages.”
Anthony Hewat, co-founder of Metier, said; “Our desire is to make a difference and this asset class is driven by a supportive policy framework. Hence, we are delighted with the first close to support Africa’s development objectives and environmental commitments.”
MSC II targets investments in select African countries and secured commitments from Germany’s development finance institution DEG (Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH), Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO (Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V.) and Proparco (the private sector arm of the French Development Agency), all of whom have previously invested with Metier in either their growth or sustainable capital funds.
Paul Botha, co-founder and CEO of Metier, said; “Our new investors in this first closing include the European Investment Bank, the CDC Group Plc (the development finance institution owned by the UK government), Norfund (the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries) and Swedfund International AB (the Swedish development finance institution)
“All of whom are backing us and we look forward to partnering with them for financial and impact returns and contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
Among the goals supported by the fund are: #6 (clean water and sanitation) #7 (affordable and clean energy), #11 (sustainable cities and communities), #12 (responsible consumption and production) and #13 (climate action).
J-P Fourie, head of investor relations at Metier, added that “The MSC team have delivered developments and investments spanning multiple renewable energy technologies including wind, solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar thermal and micro-hydro throughout Africa.
“Building on this expertise we hope to attract additional commitments from commercial investors and other development finance institutions.”
The MSC II Principals; Marc Immerman, Mike Goldblatt and Ulisha Singh are seasoned investment executives with over forty years of experience between them in clean infrastructure and resource efficiency investing and development.
MSC II is the tenth capital pool for the Metier team, which has worked together for over three decades and collectively has a track record of over 100 strong performance deals.
