Archive for the 'Impact Investing' Category
October 15th, 2010 by Tom Minney
Next month’s upcoming African Stock Exchanges Association conference (10-12 November, Zambia) could be a key event in shaping the future developments of African securities exchanges.
There will be scope for important interviews and news, blogged live from the conference meeting in Livingstone, Zambia and giving the world insight into running news of Africa’s booming securities exchanges for bonds and equities, as well as private equity and social impact investment.
Your organization could support the coverage and be at the forefront of the news. We are offering top billing advertising space on our widely-read blog and will use the money raised to support attending ASEA and to widen and deepen our high-quality coverage of Africa’s capital markets (currently written by a volunteer capital markets professional, see about us).
This is a key opportunity for your investment institution, bank, stockbroker or other company if you want to be identified as THE important role player shaping the future of investment on the world’s new frontier.
Interested advertisers are invited to bid for 1 month’s advertising on this blog, expected to start from a minimum of $500 per month. The top 2 or 3 may be accepted. We will also make sure you get well recognized in the ASEA coverage. The bidding closes on 22 October.
Please send bids by email to tom.minney[at]afrigrow.com.
October 7th, 2010 by Tom Minney
The 2010 Africa investor (Ai – www.africa-investor.com) Investment and Business Leader Awards will take place in Washington DC tomorrow (8 October), as part of the Africa activities planned for the World Bank Annual Meeting. The reception, which will recognize leaders at the forefront of improving Africa’s investment climate, will be in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Ai describes itself as “a leading international investment research and communications group”.
Earlier Ai will hold its annual Africa investor Investment Climate Summit held in partnership with the World Bank Group. Summit partners and sponsors include: The Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa; Interbrand Sampson; Thomson Reuters; Harith; Databank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC); First Bank of Nigeria Plc, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); Corporate Council for Africa; Canada African Business Council; The NEPAD Business Group, Emerging Markets Private Equity Association; Afrika Verein Der Deutschen Wirtschaft; The China Africa Business Council, Bunengi Holdings and the Whitaker Group, says Ai.
The awards categories include: i) Best Initiative in Support of SMEs and the MDGs; ii) Investment Climate Initiative of the Year; iii) Bank of the Year; iv) Carbon Finance Initiative of the Year; v) Venture Capital/Private Equity Deal of the Year; vi) Employer and Human Capital Investor of the Year; vii) Institutional Investor of the Year; viii) Investment Promotion Agency of the Year; ix) Leadership in Sustainable Investment in Africa; x) Africa’s Innovation Leader of the Year; xi) Africa’s Leading Woman in Business; xii) International Business Leader of the Year; xiii) Up-and-Coming Future Leader of the Year and xiv) African Finance Minister of the Year.
Hubert Danso, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Africa investor, said in a press release: “We feel it is critically important to showcase Africa’s investment successes with the same vigour we responsibly advise on potential investment risks. These Africa investor Awards, the longest-standing international awards of their kind, go a long way to ensuring that Africa’s investment achievements are publicized internationally and serve as inspiration to future African leaders.”
October 5th, 2010 by Tom Minney
The Global Impact Investing Network (www.thegiin.org) yesterday (4 October) released the second version of the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS). This is a standard set of metrics by which organizations involved in impact investing can chart their progress and the success of their investments in terms of social and environmental impact.
It will be increasingly important for organizations wishing to raise social capital, as well as for social impact investors, to be able to work to a clear set of measurements. In the past there has been some confusion about how to balance financial returns against environmental, social, governance and other gains and this has hindered investment efficiency.
IRIS provides a common set of social and environmental metrics and definitions for reporting the performance of impact investments. According to the GIIN, IRIS 2.0 incorporates significant enhancements to the original IRIS social and environmental reporting framework released in July 2009.
The release coincides with the launch of a new IRIS website (http://iris.thegiin.org) which makes it easier for companies and funds to identify specific IRIS performance indicators that pertain to their social and environmental goals. The new website also provides guidance to investors interested in adopting IRIS as a performance tracking tool across investment portfolios.
The improvements were made based on critical feedback from industry experts, funds piloting the original IRIS reporting standards, and other stakeholders who were engaged during a public comment period. The revisions make the IRIS reporting framework more relevant and accessible for the diverse businesses and funds that receive impact investment capital.
Sarah Gelfand, Director of IRIS at the GIIN, said in a press release: “We are extremely proud to launch this second version of the IRIS reporting standards. The enhancements to IRIS represent a new level of coordination and sophistication for the field of impact measurement, and the new IRIS website gives mission-driven investors and businesses a straightforward interface for identifying the IRIS social and environmental performance measures that will help them track and improve their work. This upgrade was a truly collaborative process, and we are especially grateful for the valuable input we received from our partners.”
The IRIS initiative includes the development and management of an IRIS data repository, which is a hub for IRIS-aligned performance data from organizations receiving impact investment capital. The IRIS data repository enables benchmarking and other aggregate analyses critical to the growth of the impact investing industry.
Impact investors and investment recipients are encouraged to provide feedback on IRIS 2.0 during an open comment period in coming months, to improve the next edition.
IRIS is an initiative of the Global Impact Investing Network, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing by bringing together key players in the sector. The GIIN builds critical infrastructure and supports activities, education, and research that help accelerate the development of a coherent impact investing industry.
This work is informed by the GIIN Investors’ Council, a diverse membership group comprised of leading impact investors. To serve the needs of the greater impact investing community, the GIIN is also launching ImpactBase, a database of impact investment funds designed to reduce search and transaction costs across the impact investing industry. More information from their website.
September 11th, 2010 by Tom Minney
The International Finance Corporation (www.ifc.org) is investing $21 million to guarantee coffee crops. The facility would be to support the Ethiopian Coffee Initiative run by Technoserve (www.technoserve.org), part of a Coffee Initiative across 4 African countries.
According to a report on www.afrik-news.com, one tranche of $10 million is to be set up with local NIB International Bank. The IFC, which approved the project in July, says in a press release that Technoserve will work with coffee farmer cooperatives to improve their business management skills; train them to improve quality of the coffee; facilitate access to credit by developing a business plan for each washing station (“wet mill”) for processing cherry coffee and present it to the partner banks; facilitate their access to markets by linking them to key buyers; provide working capital; and provide farmers with agronomy and extension services to improve their yields.
The revolving IFC guarantee facility will be for up to $10 million, and is accessible to national banks to participate.
The total size of the financing programme over the 3-year period is expected to be US$21 million. Up to 20% of the program will be for equipment loans of a 3-year maturity while the remaining 80% will be harvest working capital loans of up to one year.
The targeted region is situated in semi-forest areas in South-western Ethiopia. Most specialty coffee production in Ethiopia only uses organic fertilization and, as such, does not rely on inorganic fertilizers and/or pesticides.
In terms of process, the selective picking (only the ripe coffee cherries are harvested) is done by hand, a labor-intensive process. This kind of harvest is used primarily to harvest the finer Arabica beans. Cherry is then transported from the fields to the collection points and subsequently to the wet mills. Under this project, the processing promoted used a newer procedure called “machine-assisted wet processing” or “mechanical demucilaging”, with the wet mills able to process 1.0 or 2.4 tons/hour. After overnight fermentation, the resulting coffee beans (“parchment”) are dried in the sun on large raised drying tables for a period of 7-10 days in order to achieve the desired moisture content of 11%.
Afrik-news.com reports that Technoserve is working with Ethiopian farmer cooperatives to train them and improve their business skills and the quality of their coffee production. The project targets up to 160 farmers cooperatives which represent some 90,000 local farmers.
Technoserve, which has more than 40 years’ experience in providing business solutions to development problems, including through agricultural production, says its Coffee Initiative is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and it has also been supported by leading Wall Street philanthropists.
The IFC says it is stepping up its projects in Ethiopia. It has a programme with the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) to design financial instruments and advocate for any regulatory changes needed so that banks can accept warehouse receipts as collateral for loans.
It opened a new representative office in Ethiopia in November 2008, and recent projects include a $11 million investment to support gold exploration at the Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Western Ethiopia, and a $55 million investment in Derba Midroc Cement Company to help address the country’s cement shortage.
IFC says its strategy in Ethiopia focuses on proactively developing new investment projects, supporting public-private partnerships that promote economic growth, and mobilizing direct investments to key sectors of the economy, including agribusiness, financial services, health and education, infrastructure, manufacturing, and tourism.
When IFC Vice President for Business Advisory Services Rachel Kyte visited in July she said: “Ethiopia is a country of high potential, including in agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy and services. IFC is committed to assist Ethiopia’s government in creating an enabling environment for business and to support private sector investment in key sectors of the country.” (from press release).
IFC is also conducting several advisory services programs provide support to improve the investment climate, and promote better access to finance through measures such as the warehouse receipt finance program, to name a few.
From the web: www.technoserve.org
TechnoServe was founded in 1968 by Connecticut businessman Ed Bullard. While volunteering at a hospital in rural Ghana, he was struck by how difficult it was for hardworking people in the area to lift themselves out of poverty. So he created an organization to transform lives by providing poor people access to productivity-enhancing tools— hence the name TechnoServe: Technology in the Service of Mankind.
Bullard’s work was guided by two core principles, revolutionary at the time: the power of private enterprise to transform people’s lives, and the lasting value of providing a hand up rather than a handout. These principles have remained at the heart of TechnoServe’s efforts, even as our work has evolved to focus on improving living standards on a larger scale, to transform entire communities and countries.
Today, TechnoServe focuses on developing entrepreneurs, building businesses and industries, and improving the business environment. All our work revolves around helping people identify and capitalize on good business opportunities that help to transform the lives of the rural poor, by generating jobs and markets for their products and services.
We work with a range of public- and private-sector partners, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Rockefeller and W.K. Kellogg Foundations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google.org, Lenovo, Cargill and numerous individuals.
In keeping with our private-enterprise approach, we track and evaluate our impact using business metrics, including wages paid and supplies bought from the rural poor. We also track and evaluate the social impact of our work.
The results are evident in villages and towns throughout Africa and Latin America, where thanks to TechnoServe, businesses are thriving, economic activity is robust, and hardworking families have jobs and steady incomes. These changes have sustained improvements in infrastructure, health, education and other vital community social services.
August 13th, 2010 by Tom Minney
According to a recent study, $25–$30 billion in new investment will be needed in health-care assets, including hospitals, clinics, and distribution warehouses over the coming 10 years to meet the growing health care demands of Sub-Saharan Africa. The study is “The Business of Health in Africa: Partnering with the Private Sector to Improve People’s Lives”, prepared by the International Finance Corporation (www.ifc.org) with consultancy McKinsey & Co www.mckinsey.com.
It notes that health care in most of sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst in the world. The region has 11% of the world’s population, yet bears 24% of the global disease burden and commands less than 1% of global health expenditure. Increased attention from outside donors has resulted in some remarkable initiatives, funneling billions of dollars to help combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria the worst health scourges of the region. In spite of billions of dollars of international aid, an astonishing 50% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s total health expenditure is financed by out-of-pocket payments from its largely impoverished population. Because of economic growth, the study estimates the market for health care will more than double by 2016, reaching $35 billion.
Most of the sub-Saharan Africa lacks the infrastructure and facilities to provide and deliver minimal levels of health services and products. It also faces a severe shortage of trained medical personnel, with just 3% of the world’s health workers deployed there.
The IFC report highlights the critical role of the private sector in meeting the need for more and higher-quality health care and identifies policy changes that governments and international donors can make to enable the private sector to take on an ever more meaningful role in closing Africa’s health care gap. About 50% of health-care provision already comes from for-profit companies, non-profit organizations and social enterprises, along with insurers, providers, and manufacturers. Their role is growing.
The expected improvement in Africa’s macroeconomic climate over the next decade will expand the health care gap, as higher incomes will create new demand. The biggest individual investment opportunities will be in building and improving the sector’s physical assets. Around 550,000–650,000 additional hospital beds will need to be added to the existing base. An additional 90,000 physicians, about 500,000 nurses, and 300,000 community health workers will be required over and above the numbers that will graduate from existing medical colleges and training institutions. Demand for better distribution and retail systems and for pharmaceutical and medical supply production facilities will also be strong.
An estimated $25–$30 billion in new investments will be needed to meet demand between now and 2016—of which $11–$20 billion is likely to come from the private sector. A broad range of investment opportunities exist across all components of the health care industry in the region (as described in detail in the annexes to this report). These opportunities can deliver compelling financial returns and have an enormous potential development impact.
Health care provision accounts for roughly half the investment opportunity, with the remainder split across distribution and retail, pharmaceutical and medical product manufacturing, insurance, and medical education. These investments will fund capacity expansion, new businesses, and renovation of existing assets. About half of these investments are expected to be made by for-profit entities, the remaining portion of private sector investment being equally spread between social enterprises and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
The vast majority of the investment opportunities in the near term will be in the SME sector. Only a quarter of the opportunities are expected to have a project size larger than $3 million. This report also highlights the availability of investment opportunities in social enterprises that, while delivering lower financial returns, can have a tremendous role in the positive development of Sub-Saharan Africa.
August 13th, 2010 by Tom Minney
Agenda to mobilize the responsible development of private sector health care in sub-Saharan Africa:
1. Develop and enforce quality standards. Initial efforts at enhanced regulation could have large and immediate benefits. Financial and technical support is needed to strengthen the ability of public and private regulatory bodies to develop and enforce transparent and effective quality standards.
2. Foster risk-pooling programmes. Risk pooling arrangements— such as government-funded national payment schemes, commercial insurance, or community non-profit mutual schemes—have enormous potential to improve the financing of health care in the region, thereby encouraging the development of higher-quality, more organized private sector providers.
3. Mobilize public and donor money to the private sector. Donors can help build health-care capacity by earmarking some aid to fund private sector entities directly while also assisting local governments to expand their procurement capabilities and manage contracts with the private sector. Employers can foster the development of the local private health care sector by outsourcing provision of health care for their employees.
4. Modify local policies and regulations to foster the role of the private sector. Opportunities exist to reform the regulations that inadvertently block the development of the private health sector. The primary focus should be streamlining bureaucratic processes, liberalizing human resource regulations that perversely reduce the number of active health care workers, and reducing tariffs and other import barriers that impede access to or raise the cost of health supplies.
5. Improve access to capital. Entrepreneurs and business enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa have trouble securing financing from established institutions. Three initiatives could tackle this issue: (i) educating local banks about the true risk profile of the health care sector; (ii) using international financial backing to encourage local financial institutions to lend to health care enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and (iii) developing equity-focused financing vehicles for health care enterprises.
August 12th, 2010 by Tom Minney
Top names in Impact Investing are gathering in London on 30 Nov-1 Dec for an Impact Investing Forum organized by Hanson Wade. This is a fast-growing sector, both for investors who want to see their funds contribute to sustainability in the world and support development and fight poverty, and for investors who are looking for an alternative asset allocation strategy. The theme is “Engage as an Investor: Identify the Right Products, Ensure Commercial Returns, Measure Impact”.
Organizer Amy Miller says the meeting “will bring together investors who are looking to diversify their investment portfolio, tackle global environmental and social challenges and make a strong commercial return on investment”.
The agenda is aimed at practical lessons so that today’s largest commercial, institutional and philanthropic investors will learn how to overcome the barriers and risks presented by impact investing. Delegates will have the chance to learn from experienced speakers and many case studies to determine how to benefit from the social, environmental and financial returns of impact investing and become pioneers in this space.
It puts special emphasis on project identification, infrastructure building and impact measurement.
Confirmed speakers include many of the leading names of impact investment, including industry bodies, experienced investors and new funds:
• Rob Lake, Head of Sustainability, APG
• Emily Bolton, Director, Social Finance
• Mark Campanale, Founder, Social Stock Exchange
• Roger Frank, Managing Director, i3
• Matt Christensen, Executive Director, EUROSIF
• Adam Ognall, Deputy Chief Executive, UKSIF
• Bernie Morgan, Chief Executive, CDFA
• Ebba Schmidt, Responsible Investment Manager, Pension Protection Fund
• David Carrington, Independent Consultant
• Vineet Rai, Managing Director, Aavishkaar
• Gerhard Pries, President, Sarona Asset Management
• Simon Merchant, CEO, Jacana
• Nigel Kershaw, CEO, Big Issue Invest
• Audrey Selian, Director, Rianta Capital
• Katinka Vacranenburgh, Secretary General, The International Interfaith Investment Group
• Michele Giddens, Executive Director, Bridges Ventures
• Tanya Beya, Investment Director, IGNIA
• Beth Richardson, Director, GIIRS
The meeting will be at The Montague Hotel, London, from 30 November-1 December. For more information look at www.hansonwade.com.
The provisional agenda includes action-packed days, with some of the sessions focusing on important tools and topics such as:
1. Measuring financial returns and detailed discussions on ways of measuring social and environmental impacts
2. The roles of foundations, faith-based investors and family offices, with speakers from leading institutions
3. Social infrastructure, including the development of a Social Stock Exchange in UK and Nexii in South Africa.
4. The potential of impact investing for retail investors
5. Four funds highlighting their roles
6. The potential for partnerships between profit and not-for-profit
7. Case studies on investing in micro-finance, small and medium enterprises, education, clean tech, reforestation and emerging markets.
For more information, contact Amy Miller, Programme Director, Impact Investing, tel: +44 203 141 8727,
email amy.miller@hansonwade.com or see the conference website www.hansonwade.com.
July 26th, 2010 by Tom Minney
Activists are calling for a tax of 0.005% on all financial transactions worldwide, to raise some $33 billion dollars per year for development and particularly to replace dwindling funding for life-saving AIDS drugs. Protestors at the world AIDS forum in Vienna on 21 July said a “Robin Hood” tax on financial transactions would be one of a series of new funding initiatives, and said the time is right to propose it ahead of a review summit on Millennium Development Goals in September and a G20 meeting in November.
Funding from by rich donor nations to poor countries fighting HIV and AIDS fell back in 2009 to $7.6 billion, from $7.7 bln in 2008. The turnaround set alarm bells ringing for tens of thousands of people in Africa who are kept alive through expensive courses of ART drugs. Cutbacks could be a death sentence.
The 2009 decline ended 6 years of increases averaging more than 10% a year. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is seeking $17 bln in pledges for 2011-2013, compare to total funding of $1.2 bln for anti-HIV drugs and other initiatives in 2002.
According to news reports, campaigners at the AIDS forum said it was time for innovative financing solutions for development. Dr Philippe Douste-Blazy, former French Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development, said: “It is up to us to explain to the Heads of State that that they do not have any other solution because we know it only depends on political will.” His organisation UNITAID (www.unitaid.eu) has implemented a small tax on airline tickets. In its first 2 years of existence UNITAID committed $730 million of fresh funds to tackle HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. A portion of thoe funds came from low- and middle- income countries, mostly through the air tax mechanism. UNITAID, in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (www.clintonfoundation.org) has stimulated the manufacture of new medicine formulations as well as funded an integrated package of care for HIV-positive children.
July 7th, 2010 by Tom Minney
A UK-based investment and advisory firm concentrating on African venture capital managers has announced its first investment. Jacana Venture Partnership (www.jacana.org) on 29 June announced that it will invest in InReturn Capital (www.inreturncapital.com), a Kenya-based firm investing in East African small and medium enterprises.
Jacana’s aim is that by promoting a thriving venture capital industry in Africa it will enable small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow and help millions out of poverty through economic development and job creation. Jacana’s unique offering of capital and expertise will enable InReturn to reach its goals more rapidly. Access to finance is a major obstacle to the growth of African businesses.
According to Jacana’s mission statement, SMEs are a crucial driver of economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Every $1 invested in an SME generates an additional $10 in the local community and $1 of SME finance creates 3 times more jobs than an equivalent investment in microfinance.
International investors are increasingly interested in Africa but find it hard to choose SME fund managers in the target country since they often lack track records. Jacana mitigates this risk for investors by selecting high-quality teams and providing intensive support to local fund managers through a network of expert mentors – highly experienced private equity and venture capital professionals who can provide hands-on support to local teams. Stephen Dawson, Jacana’s Chairman, has over 30 years’ experience in UK private equity and is already actively involved with InReturn’s deal team in Nairobi.
Jacana selected InReturn as its first local partner because of its strong team and deal pipeline, after an extensive market review. InReturn’s East Africa Fund (target size $20 million) invests in SMEs in East Africa. The capital invested in InReturn’s business will support the expansion of the team into Tanzania and Uganda.
InReturn contributes to the profitability, sustainability and growth of the companies that it invests in through the active participation of its local investment team of 5 Kenyan and European professionals. InReturn East Africa Fund maintains a network of investors in Western Europe and has extensive financial and management experience.
Anthony Gichini, Managing Partner for InReturn Capital in Nairobi, said “Jacana’s investment of capital and expertise will help us to accelerate our business, and deliver returns to our investors as well as development impact in East Africa. Tanzania and Uganda are important markets for InReturn and we see significant opportunities to expand our team into these countries as we build our business together with Jacana”.
Jacana’s expertise, provided through its network of private equity expert mentors, will help InReturn to execute high-quality transactions and raise additional capital from international investors, using Jacana’s extensive contacts in the industry. Together, Jacana and InReturn aim to deliver attractive financial returns to investors in the fund, grow the private equity industry in Africa and thereby support the sustainable development of SMEs, leading to significant job creation in Africa.
Simon Merchant, CEO and co-founder of Jacana, commented in a press release: “This is the first step in growing our network of African partners, supported by international private equity experts. We are delighted to be working in close partnership with InReturn and look forward to supporting this excellent team in making successful SME investments in East Africa.”
Jacana aims to select the capital managers with highest potential growth for inclusion in the partnership network and then to work closely with them to create an attractive investment opportunity for international investors. Jacana is talking to several candidates for its next investment.
June 18th, 2010 by Tom Minney
South Africa’s first, specialised, private equity clean technology fund, Evolution One Fund, has reached its final closing after raising R700 million (US$92 million) from local and foreign investors, including development finance institutions, a family office and sovereign wealth funds. This capital is to be invested into equity in clean technology projects and enterprises including new energy and environment focused technologies in South Africa and across the Southern African Development Community. Evolution One will concentrate on long-term equity and equity-related investment based on active management and adding value after investing.
The fund will prioritise investments in expansion capital but will consider earlier-stage environmental infrastructure projects when there is clear evidence of early revenue streams and profitability. The fund will also invest into proven technology or projects that clearly demonstrate market adoption. The minimum investment size is R10 million ($1.3 million) and its maximum investment is R100 million into any one project or technology.
Consensus Business Group (www.consensusbusiness.com), the London-based advisor to The Tchenguiz Family Trust, has played a leading role in establishing and advising the fund. Consensus owns or manages 300,000 UK residential units and £4 billion of commercial properties, as well as extensive “clean tech” investments. As founding cornerstone investor, Consensus has secured the participation of 7 other leading international organisations.
Vincent Tchenguiz, Chairman of Consensus said: “We have extensive experience and a long track record in global clean technology investing and this has given our partners the confidence to join with us in setting up Evolution One in South Africa. We are delighted to have successfully achieved final closing of this ground-breaking fund.
“Evolution One Fund is the first dedicated clean technology private equity fund to be established for Africa and its value proposition is to bring Consensus’s active financial modelling and specialist insights together with expertise to projects and technology enterprises in South Africa and the SADC region. In addition, the investment capital of this network of leading investment institutions inherently leverages access to specialised knowledge and skills in the broader global clean technology sector.
“The Fund is advised by a fund management team comprising 9 principals and analysts who collectively bring their unique breadth and depth of commercial, financial and sustainability credentials. This is combined with strong black empowerment credentials and the ability to structure broad-based black economic empowerment transactions.”
Consensus is joined in the Evolution One partnership by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group; the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund); the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM); fund of funds the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF- www.eif.org), a compartment of the European Investment Fund; the African Development Bank (AfDB); the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund); and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).
The local South African fund advisor is Inspired Evolution Investment Management (IEIM – www.inspiredevolution.co.za), which aims to support and guide target invested companies and provide long-term capital growth. The Evolution One fund is a 10-year fund is committed to investing into clean technologies in the new energy and environmental sectors, including cleaner energy generation such as wind and solar energy, and energy efficiency, cleaner production and more efficient manufacturing processes, air quality and emissions control, water quality and resource management, waste management, agribusiness, natural products and materials and related services for sustainable buildings.
Michael Brooks, CEO of IEIM, says the fund management team has already appraised numerous deal opportunities and within weeks would announce details of the first 3 investments to be undertaken by the fund: “In the past 2 years we have seen significant positive shifts in the commercial thinking underpinning the roll out of clean technology projects and enterprises, both within the public and private sectors.
“The South African government’s recent adoption and implementation of the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariffs and Co-Generation Feed-in Tariffs are evidence of the state’s support for regulatory drivers to underpin the development at scale of commercially viable renewable energy projects here and in our neighbouring countries. We are currently actively engaging with a range of promoters of clean technology enterprises and with developers of renewable energy projects.”
The first close of the fund was announced in July 2008 when $54 million had been raised from the initial 4 investors: IFC, Castleway Properties (owned by Tchenguiz Family Trust), SIFEM and FinnFund.