Shell Foundation, a UK-registered charity, together with FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, announces the launch of the US$120 million Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), with an initial close of US$45 million, providing catalytic financing to early growth stage companies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) operating in the access to energy ecosystem.
Triple Jump, an Amsterdam based leading impact-focused investment manager, will act as portfolio manager and Persistent, a Zurich based venture and private equity firm with expertise in the off-grid sector, will serve as investment advisor to the fund. Enclude, a Palladium company, advised on the structuring and execution of the fund.
Recent OECD research shows SSA has the lowest access to energy rates in the world, with 600 million people lacking electricity and over 125 million households lacking access to modern energy services. Such energy poverty also has dire effects on economic growth and sustainable development. Access to energy is a requisite to both elevating living conditions and allowing for development and expansion of economic activities in rural Africa.
The fund is designed to provide patient, flexible capital combined with technical assistance that is currently lacking in the off-grid energy ecosystem. It will finance more than 25 companies and predominantly provides mezzanine structures as well as equity and debt investments through tailored solutions to meet the changing needs of growing energy companies. With a fund life of 12 years, EEGF provides a longer investment holding and support period, recognizing the inherent need for such businesses in emerging economies to unlock value creation to their stakeholders.
“To reach the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 and deliver universal energy access, an additional 300+ companies will require funding of US$10M on average to become cashflow positive and grow to sufficient scale to deliver energy services to millions of consumers in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Sam Parker, Director, Shell Foundation. “The EEGF will help to bridge the funding gap which today prevents early stage, growing energy companies from accessing the range of risk capital and business support they need to develop to the
next stage and ultimately attract commercial capital.” (See: Capital Needs to Connect Off-Grid Households in Sub-Saharan Africa)
“Supporting renewable energy programs is key to FMO’s strategy, as lack of access to energy is one of the biggest barriers to development. We are excited to announce the EEGF partnership to help boost and scale innovative companies providing off-grid solar power in Africa. Right now, there is a clear funding gap between early stage off-grid companies which are primarily served by grant providers, and larger players that are able to tap into commercial sources of capital. EEGF strives to close this gap. In addition, through the unique partnership between Triple Jump and Persistent, EEGF’s investee companies will be able to benefit from hands-on operational support and advice in order to help them transition into the next stages of development,” says Frederik van Pallandt, director Energy at FMO. FMO’s contribution to the EEGF is partly funded by Building Prospects (US$7.5 million) and the Access to Energy Fund (US$7.5 million), which FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government.
“The access to clean energy space is still a rather small but fast-growing industry, and one that is certainly relevant to Triple Jump’s mission to empower people and improve lives in emerging markets,” states Jan-Henrik Kuhlmann, Head of Sustainable Energy for Triple Jump. “Providing risk capital and active support from expert pools in various critical dimensions of the access to energy business models will be a key deliverable to foster operational efficiency, professionalization, and sustainable growth of the investees and the entire access to energy eco-system, while creating a positive sustainable development impact.”
Persistent is the leading venture builder in the energy access sector in Africa and the advisor to the fund. “We are excited to bring our sector expertise to the EEGF and help early growth stage ventures raise the capital they need to clear the financing gap”, says Dirk Muench, co-founder of Persistent. “The collaboration with Triple Jump has been excellent to date and we look forward to a successful partnership.”
--------------------------
About Triple Jump
Triple Jump is a Dutch impact-focused investment manager that provides meaningful and responsible investment opportunities in developing countries. By providing financing and support to companies in emerging markets, Triple Jump aims to empower individuals to improve their quality of life.
About Shell Foundation
Shell Foundation (SF) is a UK-registered charity, founded by Shell in 2000, that creates and scales business solutions to enhance access to energy and affordable transport for low-income communities across Africa and Asia. Shell Foundation’s support of the EEGF is provided in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) as part of the £60m Transforming Inclusive Energy Markets programme.
About Persistent
Persistent Energy Capital LLC invests in and builds impact ventures in underserved markets. By providing deep operational and strategic support to exceptional entrepreneurs, Persistent generates attractive financial returns and creates lasting social and environment impact. Persistent operates out of offices in Lagos, New York and Zurich.
About Enclude
Enclude is a financial advisory services business, regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority to provide corporate finance services. Enclude’s service offering includes capital raising, mergers & acquisitions advisory and general financial advisory services for the impact investing market globally. Enclude is part of Palladium, a contractor to donor agencies and active in the design and implementation of large and complex development projects.
