AfricaGoGreen Fund closes $47m in new equity investments
The AfricaGoGreen Fund (AGGF) has completed its second fundraising close, securing $47 million in combined investments from financial organisations such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).
AGGF is the first structured debt fund in Africa that focuses on energy efficiency solutions. The recent funding will allow AGGF to broaden its financing for climate-friendly projects in Africa, such as purchasing high-efficiency appliances and industrial equipment, retrofitting existing buildings and new green buildings, and installing rooftop solar and battery storage for residential, commercial and industrial consumers.
IFC provided $17 million in equity and committed $30 million in debt to the fund, providing AGGF with long-term capital to complete the second close fundraise. AfDB, NDF and SEFA each invested $10 million in equity, and an additional $10 million in debt was provided by Calvert Impact Capital.
Launched by KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in early 2021 and managed by LHGP Asset Management, AGGF aims to reach between $230 million and $250 million at the final close, and the current fundraising round has brought the total funding to $138 million.
AGGF has provided financing to AktivCo, a telecom energy services company, to develop clean energy solutions for powering telecommunication towers in several African countries, and to BBOXX, a pay-as-you-go solar-powered solutions provider, to accelerate access to clean cooking solutions for millions of Africans.
AGGF has a technical assistance facility of $3.3 million from KFW on behalf of BMZ, which supports project development and market studies, and provides transaction advisory and capacity building to stakeholders.
The fund has also recently closed the Solarise transaction, investing in energy-efficient appliances in Kenya, South Africa and Mauritius, and upsized both the AktivCo and BBOXX transactions.