Africa Go Green Fund signs a $5.5m loan with clean energy company
The Africa Go Green Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (AGG) signed its second transaction, a $5.5 million medium-term senior secured loan with Bboxx, a holding company for several next-generation utility companies expanding access to clean energy and clean cooking across Africa.
Bboxx is an industry leader and a global pioneer of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar home systems and more recently LPG clean cooking stoves solutions. Operating across the DRC, Rwanda, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, its products are priced and sized to be accessible by low-income households and are sold on credit plans that are priced to fit. Having established itself as a leading off-grid energy access player in Africa, the company identified LPG clean cooking as a product that meets the demands of an increasing number of its customers and aligns with its mission to transform lives and unlock potential through access to energy.
The latest agreement between AGG and Bboxx will help drive efforts to overcome barriers to clean cooking adoption by providing accessible commercial solutions. This includes addressing issues such as distribution complexity and a lack of customer purchasing power, in a step towards ensuring clean energy access for all.
LPG as a cooking fuel has been identified as a product that can help solve many of Africa’s most pressing energy and environmental issues, from the destruction and damage of natural resources to the negative health and climate impact from burning wood and charcoal.
AGG was initiated by KfW on behalf of the German Government to promote private investments which mitigate or reduce the emission of green house gases. AGG was launched with initial capital of €32 million and a technical assistance facility of €3 million (first close). The fund targets energy efficiency projects in all of Africa with a focus on West Africa, investing in senior and mezzanine loans with significant flexibility to tailor terms to the needs of borrowers. The fund is managed by Lion’s Head Asset Management.
“We are tremendously pleased to be able to support Bboxx’s ambitions to tackle the environmental and health issues arising from using firewood and charcoal for cooking. This transaction demonstrates how combatting climate change requires multiple approaches. AGG has been created to support Africa’s most innovative companies with tailored and flexible capital,” said Clemens Calice, portfolio manager for the Africa Go Green Fund.
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