Two German institutions, Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and KfW, which was formerly known as Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, are launching a foundation called Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa). The foundation has EUR 49 million (USD 55.2 million) to donate in support of “climate-friendly power supplies for people in sparsely populated areas of sub-Saharan Africa.” Triple Jump of the Netherlands has been selected as the lead manager of CEI Africa, with US-based GreenMax Capital Advisors and Switzerland-based Persistent to assist in managing the foundation.
CEI Africa will support the deployment of mini-grids and other renewable energy systems, including “grain mills, water pumping, cold storage” and others. Additionally, CEI Africa will support crowdlending platforms to help diaspora members and other interested individuals lend to support renewable energy. KfW expects the initial funding to allow CEI Africa to support 187 “off-grid and small-scale power networks” and 70,000 new power connections, serving 350,000 people.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Triple Jump has 80 staff members managing six investment funds that invest in debt, equity and other funds. Its investments focus on agriculture, housing, sustainable energy, microfinance, and small and medium-sized enterprise. In addition, the firm offers advisory services to financial intermediaries seeking to develop inclusive financial markets. As of 2020, Triple Jump manages investments valued at EUR 820 million (USD 923 million) spanning 162 portfolio companies in 63 countries.
GreenMax Capital Advisors is a member of GreenMax Capital Group, “a group of international clean energy investment advisory and management-consulting firms established in 1994.” These organizations operate in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. Financial information on GreenMax is not available.
Persistent, based in Switzerland, provides investment services aimed at promoting carbon-neutral economic development in Africa. These activities include management advisory services and direct financing. As of December 2021, Persistent has invested in 18 early-stage startups, such as “PAYGo [pay-as-you-go] solar home systems, commercial and industrial solar, ecosystem enablers, and e-mobility players.” Persistent also acts as an advisor to the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), which is valued at USD 120 million as of 2019.
KfW, a development bank founded in 1948, is owned by the federal and local governments of Germany. As of December 2020, KfW held EUR 546 billion (USD 615 billion) in total assets and EUR 424 billion (USD 477 billion) in net loans and advances.
BMZ, also known as the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, was founded in 1961. The agency focuses on economic development in Germany and approximately 60 other countries. For 2020, BMZ had a budget of EUR 508 billion (USD 593 billion).
By Zachary DeLuca, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
KfW press release
https://www.kfw.de/About-KfW/Newsroom/Latest-News/Pressemitteilungen-Details_682368.html
Triple Jump press release
https://triplejump.eu/2021/12/14/triple-jump-b-v-persistent-and-greenmax-capital-advisors-awarded-management-of-the-newly-launched-clean-energy-and-energy-inclusion-for-africa-foundation
BMZ homepage
https://www.bmz.de/
GreenMax Capital Advisors homepage
http://greenmaxcap.com/
Persistent homepage
https://persistent.energy/
Triple Jump annual reports
https://triplejump.eu/media-library/publications/
EEGF homepage
https://triplejump.eu/fund/eegf/
KfW homepage
https://www.kfw.de/
KfW annual report 2020
https://www.kfw.de/About-KfW/Service/Download-Center/Financial-Publications/Finanzbericht/
Previous MicroCapital article on KfW
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-regional-msme-investment-fund-for-sub-saharan-africa-regmifa-raises-24m-from-bmz-via-kfw/
Previous MicroCapital article on Triple Jump
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-triple-jump-via-asn-microkredietpool-nmi-incofin-place-9-4m-in-equity-in-light-microfinance-for-financial-inclusion-of-women-in-rural-india/
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