Camco’s Spark closes initial senior debt round with $9m of investments

Symbiotics and Triple Jump have become the latest investors to support Camco’s financing platform, Spark Energy Services.

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Symbiotics Investments and Triple Jump have become the latest investors to support Camco’s financing platform, Spark Energy Services, after signing a $9 million senior debt agreement.

Symbiotics Investments committed $5 million through a green bond, which the investment manager also arranged, whereas Triple Jump contributed $4 million through its Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF). This completes a $9 million senior debt round for Spark, which was developed by Camco to support energy efficiency and captive renewable energy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) sector.

The $9 million senior debt tops up an existing $10 million junior debt commitment from EIB and nearly $10 million in investments from UK government-funded FSD Africa Investments, Jaltech Fund Management, Fortis Green Renewables and Camco.

Spark is now targeting an additional $20 million in senior debt from a consortium of lenders in the next 12 months, with a subsequent close of at least $100 million in the coming years.

The funding will help Spark scale energy efficiency and captive generation solutions in sub-Saharan Africa’s C&I sector and deliver on its mission of helping businesses, particularly SMEs, to achieve their low carbon growth plans and increase their competitiveness on the international stage.

Thomas Varela, lead investment analyst at Symbiotics Investments said: “Our investment in Spark illustrates Symbiotics’ commitments to both clean energy and African SMEs. By streamlining funding to local developers, Spark provides access to capital for projects often considered too small. By acting as an aggregator, the platform also tackles the emerging energy efficiency segment, which has a tremendous climate impact potential but lacks scale in many markets.”

Mathilde Sergent, senior investment manager at Triple Jump said: “We are thrilled to support Spark Energy Services. The platform’s focus on driving forward energy efficiency and innovative renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa's C&I sectors while building capacity of small-scale developers is particularly well aligned with EEGF’s dedication to help businesses, especially SMEs, to thrive with sustainable, low-carbon solutions."

The EEGF, managed by Triple Jump and advised by Persistent Energy, is a fund that provides tailored mezzanine, equity and debt investments combined with technical assistance to early- and growth-stage companies operating in the access to energy ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adam Fitzwilliam, Spark Platform lead at Camco said: “Securing additional debt capital for Spark was essential to advancing our mission to scale the platform's impact. We appreciate the support from the Symbiotics and Triple Jump teams and are now eager to deploy these funds to provide SMEs across the region with innovative, sustainable energy solutions.”

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