All interested clean energy sector players (companies, social enterprises and research institutes) are welcome to attend these upcoming events in Maputo and Gaborone. Please see details and links to the relevant registration forms below. Come learn more about EEP Africa funding opportunities!
Private Sector Day on 21 November in Maputo
EEP Africa and GET.invest will present on their current activities and upcoming funding opportunities available to businesses and project developers in Mozambique. Advance registration is required by 18 November.
EEP Africa will provide practical guidance on how to prepare a successful funding application and share information about upcoming opportunities for companies and project developers in Botswana. The workshop is being held in cooperation with the Botswana Innovation Hub. Advance registration is required by 22 November.
Learn more about this half-day event in the invitation.
EEP Africa moderated a panel on “Clean Cooking Investment: What are Investors Looking for?” at the Clean Cooking Forum 2019 in Nairobi on 6 November 2019
On 6 November, EEP Africa Portfolio
Coordinator Fred Eklund led a panel discussion on clean cooking investment at
the Clean Cooking Forum 2019. He began by highlighting recent trends in the
sector, including a shift towards more holistic approaches that often include the
fuel and an all-inclusive package catering for all energy needs of a household by
also providing lighting and electricity. PAYGO schemes are becoming the norm
and the internet of things has entered the sector and enables the providers to
track cooking in real time. In general, the clean cooking sector has been
influenced by business models that have enabled the SHS sector to grow.
These trends are all evident in EEP Africa’s portfolio of innovative projects in the clean cooking sector. To date, EEP Africa has committed EUR 13 million to 45 clean cooking projects (cookstoves, biomass, biogas, waste-to-energy). Collectively, these have achieved EUR 44 million in household savings and income generation, created close to 3,400 direct jobs, potentially reduced or avoided over 779,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions. Over 35% of these projects have been in Kenya, confirming the Clean Cooking Alliance’s recognition of Kenya as a leader in the sector. Learn more in a new EEP Africa fact sheet on clean cooking.
At the session in Nairobi, the introduction was followed by a one-on-one chat between an investor, Faith Chege from Factor[e] Ventures, and the managing director of a company, Esther Altofer from Sistema.bio. The women and Mr. Eklund were then joined by the rest of the panel for a lively discussion on emerging business models, investment criteria and current capital flows. The full panel included: Jorund Buen of DIFFER, Louis Boorstin of Osprey Foundation, and Nick Quintong of Paygo Energy. (Short bios of all panelists can be found on the Clean Cooking Forum website.)
Co-hosted by the Clean Cooking Alliance
and the Kenya Ministry of Energy, the Clean Cooking Forum 2019 attracted over
500 people from 50+ countries. This annual event is the largest gathering of
those working to achieve universal access to clean cooking. This year’s theme
of “Investment, Innovation, Impact” put a focus on creative financing and
investment opportunities, as well as innovative approaches and strategies to
strengthen the inclusion of women in the clean cooking value chain.
Promoting gender inclusion and new economic opportunities for women was the theme of EEP Africa’s most recent call-for-proposals. Out of 285 applications received, 19% proposed innovative clean cooking solutions and 79% of these were submitted by women-led organisations. From this 2019 call, 5 new clean cooking projects were approved with total financing of EUR 1.25 million. Learn more in a brief analysis of EEP Africa’s gender–themed call.
EEP Africa invites nominations (including self-nominations!) for the EEP Africa 2019 Project of the Year. Submit your application by 31 October!
What is the Award?
The EEP Africa Project
of the Year Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an EEP Africa portfolio
company during 2019.
Shortlisted finalists will
be invited to present their business case and achievements in a live pitch
session in front of a high level panel at the EEP Africa Knowledge Exchange
Forum (KEF) in Arusha, Tanzania on 4 December 2019. Panelists will select a winner
at the event.
All shortlisted
finalists will be featured prominently in communications materials circulated
to a wide audience, and the winner will be awarded a speaking opportunity with
travel and accommodation included at the next African Utility Week (AUW) in
Cape Town, South Africa in May 2020.
Who is Eligible?
Any project developer
that has received financing from EEP Africa, current or past, since 2010
What Do We Look For?
Significant,
outstanding and verifiable achievement during 2019 in terms of delivery,
innovation, impact and/or fundraising
Critical
lessons learned and a story that needs to be told!
Include contact information for 3 external references (for example partner, investor, donor)
Upload not more than 3 pieces of supporting files (photos, video, brochure) documenting your achievement
Do finalists need be in Arusha in person to
compete?
Live pitches by finalists must be in person. EEP Africa will cover flights and two nights of accommodation in Arusha for one representative of each finalist to enable finalists to attend.
DEADLINE: Submit your nomination by 31 October 2019.
https://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/Vitalite-sales.jpg8802036Tracy Dolanhttps://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/EEP_Africa_Logo_Website.jpgTracy Dolan2019-10-10 09:58:442019-11-13 12:11:11EEP Africa Project of the Year 2019: Call for Nominations!
11 female CEOs stand out among the 19 clean energy startups, early stage companies and projects at feasibility stage approved by the EEP Africa Innovation Window Investment Committee
The EEP Africa
Innovation Window Investment Committee (IC) met in Nairobi, Kenya on 26
September 2019 to approve funding for a new cohort of projects submitted under
the latest EEP Africa open call-for-proposals: “Promoting Gender Inclusion, Female Leadership and Opportunities for
Women across the Clean Energy Sector in Southern and East Africa.”
The IC was chaired by Mr.
Aleksi Lumijärvi, Program Manager at the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and
included Ms. Anu Hassinen, Senior Policy Advisor at the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs of Finland, and Ms. Nishdeep Sethi, Deputy Head of Structured Finance
and Products at the Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF).
Ms. Sethi joined the IC
as an independent member, enhancing synergies within the NDF
portfolio of climate finance activities and building a linkage to the new
joint initiative of AGF and the African Development Bank (AfDB), Affirmative
Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), announced recently at the 2019
G7 Summit in Biarritz. The planned USD 200 million initiative will catalyze
access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Africa and holds potential to link
closely to women-owned and women-led companies in the EEP Africa clean energy
portfolio.
Ambassador Christian
Fellner, Austria’s Ambassador to Kenya and Permanent Representative to the UN
in Nairobi, joined the opening session of the IC meeting and endorsed the
strong focus on women, sustainable jobs and private sector led green growth.
“Having now chaired two investment committee rounds under EEP Africa, I am pleased to see continuous evolution and improvements in process and quality,” said NDF Program Manager and Investment Committee Chair, Aleksi Lumijärvi. “We were able to approve a broadly diversified portfolio of 19 projects, all strongly aligned with the core EEP Africa mandate to support early stage clean energy innovation while also enhancing our focus on women and women leadership.”
This was the 15th
call-for-proposals (CfP15) under EEP Africa since 2010 and the first call with
a specific theme. The call attracted 285 applications and a combined financing request
of EUR 97 million. The applications included a diverse set of innovative
business models covering 12 different clean energy technologies and 14
countries.
“We already knew that women are leading the clean energy transition in Africa and now we can point to an EEP Africa portfolio that says the same thing,” said EEP Africa Fund Manager and NDF Program Manager, Charles Wetherill, “11 out of 19 new portfolio companies are led by female CEOs, and all 19 feature unique dimensions on engaging women in clean energy design, delivery and use.”
The motivation for a themed call-for-proposals featuring women in the clean energy sector stems from earlier knowledge work and EEP Africa analysis of its own portfolio which resulted in a major study released in 2017: Understanding the Role of Women and Girls in Renewable and Energy-Efficiency Projects. One of the core findings from the study was that “women and girls stand to benefit the most from the availability of sustainable, affordable and renewable energy sources.”
EEP Africa is a clean energy financing facility hosted and managed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) with funding from Austria, Finland and NDF. It provides early stage grant and catalytic debt financing to innovative clean energy projects, technologies and business models in Southern and East Africa.
https://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/IC-table_26-SEPT-2019_crop.jpg7552282EEP Coordination Officehttps://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/EEP_Africa_Logo_Website.jpgEEP Coordination Office2019-10-07 14:15:492019-10-15 10:46:18EEP Africa Approves 19 New Projects Featuring Women in Clean Energy
EEP Africa received a total
of 530 applications in its 14th Call for Proposals (CfP14). This was
five times the average number of applications received in previous calls,
demonstrating the high demand for early stage financing in the clean energy sector.
The applications covered a wide variety of project types, technologies and geographical areas. Collectively, they offer an overview of the state of the market and emerging trends in the renewable energy sector in Southern and East Africa.
Based on the information received in this call, EEP Africa has produced a Market Report: Clean Energy Financing Demand with observations and insights from CfP14. These will strengthen EEP Africa’s operations and help other donors and investors in the sector ensure their strategies are responsive to market needs.
Key Conclusions:
Grant funding is needed to de-risk innovation,
leverage private sector investment.
Solar PV is dominant but sustainable business models
are developing in other technologies.
Mini-grids are focusing on productive uses of energy
to improve financial viability.
Technological risks are decreasing but risks in the
operating environment remain challenging.
Significant effort is needed to expand opportunities
for women as leaders and entrepreneurs.
The EEP Africa team recently visited a number of projects from its portfolio in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. The projects covered a range of clean energy technologies that highlight the diverse EEP Africa portfolio, including mini-grids, micro-hydro, electric mobility, solar home systems and improved cookstoves. It’s always exciting to see the impact that EEP financing has on the ground and the amazing work the project developers are doing!
To keep up to date on the travels of our team members and the achievements of EEP-financed projects, please please follow our social media channels, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The project developers visited by the EEP Africa team most recently are:
Tiny Totosis bringing clean cooking to day cares in Nairobi and working with them to offer working mothers access to clean energy products and financing. Tiny Totos recently won the African Regional MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge, a competition for entrepreneurs using technology to create economic opportunity for workers, with an entry based on the platform being built with EEP financing. The EEP Africa team was joined on the site visit by representatives of the Africa Guarantee Fund and the governments of Finland and Canada.
Kumudzi Kuwaleoperates 34 stations in the Central District of Malawi that provide affordable, renewable electricity and light to the most marginalised, rural population. (This social enterprise is partially owned by Grønn-Hagen Bjørke Malawi Foundation in Norway.) EEP Africa financing is supporting scale up of this model and expansion to new regions across Malawi.
Zembo is bringing electric motorcycles to the boda-boda taxi market in Kampala, Uganda. EEP Africa financing is supporting the piloting of this new product and the establishment of battery re-charging stations. Our team even got to take a ride on one of the new motorcycles!
SolarWorks!has begun to build a distribution and sales network in Malawi for solar home systems that support lighting, mobile-phone charging, televisions, and refrigeration. EEP Africa financing supports last mile distribution, enabling the project to reach the most remote and financially constrained households.
Ensolhas developed mini-grids in the village of Mpale, Tanzania and its five hamlets. The mini-grid model has a clear focus on developing the local community through productive use of energy assets. Our team visited Mpale and enjoyed the electrified village by night!
Devergyhas deployed 14 mini-grids in Tanzania and is now driving rural entrepreneurship with the sale of solar productive use of energy systems, particularly refrigerators. Our team visited one of the sites financed by EEP Africa in Ifumbo.
Practical Actionhas secured a site in Usingini, Malawi for a 300 kW micro-hydro plant that will provide electricity to smallholder coffee farmers. EEP Africa financing is ensuring that the project includes integrated community engagement.
Practical Action
Devergy
Zembo
Ensol
SolarWorks!
Tiny Totos
https://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/Kumudzi-Kuwale.jpg7971599EEP Coordination Officehttps://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/EEP_Africa_Logo_Website.jpgEEP Coordination Office2019-09-30 16:04:432019-10-07 14:51:47EEP Africa Team Sees Impact on the Ground
EEP Africa, Shell Foundation and Factor[e] Ventures together with select investors and companies come together in Nairobi for high energy investor day.
EEP Africa, Shell Foundation and
Factor[e] Ventures convened a select group of impact investors for structured matchmaking
meetings with a curated group of high impact, investible clean energy companies
in Nairobi on 24 September 2019. The
invitation-only event brought together more than 50 global and regional
investors, DFIs and funds together with more than 20 leading innovation- and
impact- oriented companies in clean energy and sustainable transport.
The day showcased the value of partnerships at all levels. EEP Africa and Shell Foundation each have long experience hosting successful investor events and deep early stage investment portfolios in clean energy in Africa. Together with Factor[e] Ventures, the partners together brought a combined portfolio of high quality companies in front of a room of investors, providing pure added-value in a single day for investors and companies alike.
Kicking off the event on behalf of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), EEP Africa Fund Manager and NDF Program Manager Charles Wetherill told the audience,
“I ran into a CEO in the airport yesterday who said he dropped everything and flew here exclusively for this event when he saw the high quality investor list.”
“Our purpose is to catalyse investment in a curated pipeline of investible companies delivering climate relevant, clean energy business models in line with the SDGs,” Wetherill said in a morning address to investors, adding, “we want to be your trusted and preferred partner for identification of the next generation of scalable investment opportunities in clean energy in Africa.”
The day also offered dedicated opportunities for investors only to network and discuss topics including catalysing blended finance, valuation strategies, access to local currency debt and guarantees and best practices on identifying, mentoring and investing in local African entrepreneurs. Participants included private equity and impact investors, debt and guarantee providers, grant facilities, local banks, and DFIs.
EEP Africa Head of Portfolio & Finance, Lauri Tuomaala, highlighted that
“the strong portfolio of companies here today is a testament to the power of partnership and provides investors with an efficient platform to connect with emerging players in the sector and identify investment opportunities.”
EEP
Africa was proud to partner with Shell Foundation and Factor[e] Ventures on
this major event.
“Access to finance is a key barrier towards scaling off-grid energy and transport businesses in East Africa,” noted Heidi Hafes, Market Development Manager for Shell Foundation. “Events like these are important in bringing together investors active in the sector with relevant entrepreneurs. We look forward to seeing today’s vibrant discussions lead to positive actions.”
Faith Chege, East Africa Regional Associate at Factor[e] Ventures, emphasized that “the strong network of investors here provide follow-on funding to our diverse portfolio of found and validated companies, creating a rich pipeline of technology-enabled ventures in the region. These partnerships have made it possible for funded companies to raise Series A and B rounds.”
Participating companies were also selected from the portfolio of the Nordic Climate Facility, a challenge fund facility managed by NDF and providing early stage grant support for innovative climate business concepts with focus on specific countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Ramses Malaty, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Finland in Kenya, closed the event by noting that it’s “great to witness the effect of Finland’s long-term commitment to EEP Africa. The private sector collaboration keeps growing and getting better all the time!”
Plans are already underway
for the next investor event to take place in South Africa in the first half of
2020. Interested investors are invited to be in touch at info@eepafrica.org to explore participation.
EEP Africa is a clean energy financing facility managed by the
Nordic Development Fund (NDF) with funding from Austria, Finland and NDF. It provides
early stage grant and catalytic debt financing to innovative clean energy projects,
technologies and business models in Southern and East Africa.
Shell Foundation (SF) is a UK-registered charity that creates and
scales business solutions to enhance access to energy and affordable transport.
It supports innovators to test new technology and enterprise models that can
contribute towards the SDGs, achieve financial independence and operate at scale.
Factor[e] Ventures is a venture capital firm with operations in East
Africa, USA & India. We invest in early stage ventures in agriculture,
sanitation, mobility & energy. Through our venture development high touch
model, we work closely with our portfolio companies to transform their ideas
into market based solutions.
Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) is a challenge fund hosted and
managed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) financing early stage climate
projects in select countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. NCF aims to
build a portfolio of innovative business concepts which have been tested,
proved viable and are ready to be scaled-up and replicated.
https://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0013smaller.jpg12773132EEP Coordination Officehttps://eepafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/EEP_Africa_Logo_Website.jpgEEP Coordination Office2019-09-27 20:22:502019-09-30 15:26:39Investor Forum Matchmakes Companies and Investors in Clean Energy
New loan financing from Off-Grid Energy Access Fund builds on early stage support from EEP Africa and highlights synergies in the NDF clean energy portfolio.
The Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI-OGEF) recently announced a new investment in SunCulture, a Kenya-based company specializing in solar pumping, irrigation and technology solutions for small holder farmers.
“This is the perfect illustration of NDF’s portfolio approach to climate finance,” said NDF Program Manager and EEP Africa Manager, Charles Wetherill. “We are making deliberate financing choices that yield powerful synergies in the marketplace. In this case, EEP Africa, NDF’s early stage clean energy financing vehicle, took the first step with grant financing in 2016 to enable SunCulture to develop its business case. Now FEI-OGEF, another strategic piece of the NDF climate finance portfolio, picks up the baton with working capital debt financing to enable scale-up and growth.”
SunCulture enables rural and small holder households, many of which are women-led, to make the switch from rainfall dependent agriculture to irrigation based agriculture. This brings improved productivity, expands the number of growing seasons and land under cultivation and can increase household income by as much as 5x – 10x.
FEI-OGEF is a blended finance off-grid energy investment fund established in 2018 by the African Development Bank and NDF together with partners including All-On, Calvert Impact Capital and the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and managed by Lions Head Global Partners.
More information on EEP Africa support to SunCulture is available here.
More information can be found directly at the FEI-OGEF and SunCulture websites
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