AfDB Approves $20m for Renewable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Adedapo Adesanya

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $20m investment in the Metier Sustainable Capital International Fund II to provide renewable energy and resource-efficient infrastructure projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

With the funds, the bank will see the addition of 178.5 megawatts of renewable power that will be used for commercial and residential purposes in the region.

According to Mr Wale Shonibare, AfDB’s Acting Vice President for power, energy, climate change, and green growth, the Fund II investment was part of the bank’s efforts to lessen financial constraints in the renewable energy sector, adding that it will also create opportunities for industrial wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy generation that were not utilised but causing harm.

He added that the Fund will meet the Bank’s strict environment and safeguards standards to ensure potential risks are adequately mitigated.

“Metier has extensive experience in developing and financing renewable energy projects with strong technical partners and co-developers in Southern Africa.

“We are pleased to join other investors in supporting their expansion into new African markets to help unlock the vast renewable potential of the continent,” he added.

Metier is a well-established fund manager with a track record of deploying more than $550mn in African countries, including solar, wind and hydropower projects in Southern and East Africa.

The company is also an important player in South African solar power, a maturing technology that offers significant benefits in terms of storage and dispatchability to the grid, unlike traditional photovoltaic options.

The Metier Sustainable Capital Fund II targets investments which deliver social and environmental benefits as well as financial returns. The investment mandate is balanced between renewable energy projects (encompassing both grid-tied and distributed generation) and growth capital investments in other resource efficiency sectors such as water and waste, with a unique blend of team skills, experience and networks allowing for a compelling proposition.

Compared to the predecessor LMSC, which invested mostly in on-grid renewable energy projects in South Africa, the Fund II will broaden its target sectors and geographic focus across the African continent.