Africa Go Green Fund has signed a $5.5 million medium-term senior secured loan with Bboxx Capital Limited, a holding company for next generation utility companies expanding access to clean energy and clean cooking across Africa.
Africa Go Green is a Luxembourg based alternative investment fund, established with the aim to spur greenhouse gas reductions by backing financial and non-financial institutions developing and/or investing in eligible energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Africa.
Announcing the signing ceremony in a statement yesterday, Bboxx described itself as 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 Nigeria, DRC, Rwanda, Togo, Kenya, and Burkina Faso, Bboxx innovative products are priced and sized to be accessible by low-income households and are sold on credit plans that are priced to fit,” Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of Bboxx, stated in the press release
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, it said.
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.
AGG’s loan to Bboxx will help to underpin the mitigation of an estimated 760,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 150,000 passenger cars being driven regularly for a year, the statement said, adding that this is in line with AGG’s mandate to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
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 (GHG). The company 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.
Mansoor Hamayun stated further: “With the climate crisis continuing to gather at pace, it is now more vital than ever that the provision of clean energy for all is accelerated, in line with the UN’s SDG7 – clean energy for all.
“This is especially true for areas where a significant proportion of the population is living without access to electricity or clean cooking facilities, and we are therefore delighted that this loan will enable us to ramp up our delivery of affordable, clean electricity and clean cooking solutions across Africa.
“We are pleased to work with AGG and thankful for their support and recognition of the importance of our endeavours, forming part of our wider mission to transform lives and unlock potential in the developing world.”
Clemens Calice, Portfolio Manager for Africa Go Green Fund, said: “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.”
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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