KENYA – Mirova, the affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable investment, supported by Mirova SunFunder East Africa Ltd as Investment Advisor, a wholly-owned subsidiary based in Nairobi, announced that the Mirova Gigaton Fund has raised US$171 million for its first closing.
This blended finance debt fund aims to accelerate the clean energy transition in emerging countries in Africa and Asia Pacific predominantly, as well as Latin America and the Middle East.
Mirova SunFunder is a leading impact investor, solving energy access and climate change challenges in frontier markets, primarily Africa, by providing clean energy financing.
The fund’s target size is US$500 million and expects to deploy US$1.2 billion of private debt throughout its life primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in solar home systems, agri-solar, commercial & industrial solar, telecom tower solarization, mini-grids and other promising sectors such as e-mobility, battery storage, climate-smart food systems, energy efficiency and carbon credit pre-financing.
“The challenges of sustainable finance go beyond the borders of developed countries: by exceeding half its target after only one year of fundraising, the Mirova Gigaton Fund is a testament to our ambition to develop our emerging markets platform to provide capital where investment needs, particularly in infrastructure, will be the greatest in the coming decades,” Raphaël Lance, Head of Energy Transition Funds at Mirova, added.
The fund will seek to accelerate energy transition across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia by providing private debt financing to businesses active in solar power for homes, agriculture, telecommunications and industry, mini-grids and green energy sectors, including electric vehicles mobility, storage, climate-smart food systems, energy efficiency.
Projects funded by the blended finance debt fund will help to increase access to reliable and affordable energy and ensure viable alternatives to fossil fuel-based activities.
Andy Keith, CEO of Solar Panda, commented that Solar Panda is driven by our motto “Boresha Maisha” which means “improving lives”.
The investment from the Mirova Gigaton Fund will allow us and other innovative projects to improve the lives of many more people on the African continent, and more broadly in emerging countries where access to safe and clean electricity is still an issue for many.
Long-standing partners such as the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Swedfund and Sida as well as new investors will provide the catalytic capital and guarantee that help decrease risks and consequently unlock private capital.
Natixis Private Equity also invested in the fund to further mobilize private investors, combining investors’ resources to truly scale clean-energy investments, with robust social, gender and economic impacts.
The fund already constituted a pipeline of investments in over 30 countries and continues to actively seek new investable opportunities that further the efforts to build a sustainable and low carbon future.
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