- Eiffel Investment Group is initiating a bridge funding strategy to speed up the electrification and the energy transition of the African Continent, with a dedicated team and in partnership with Finergreen.
- The strategy aims to accelerate the electrification of the African Continent with the objective of funding renewable-based electricity to an equivalent of two million consumers.
- The fund will provide bridge financing which is intended to bridge the gap between an unforeseen event and a long-term financing solution to avoid a liquidity shortage.
Now extending to the African Continent, Eiffel Investment Group’s construction bridge fund programme which has already financed more than 1,900 renewable energy projects, in Europe and beyond, alongside more than 60 independent developers. It is managed by a dedicated team led by Alan Follmar and Pierrick Paindavoine, seasoned emerging market investment specialists who joined Eiffel Investment Group to reinforce the existing energy transition team.
Eiffel Investment Group has partnered with Finergreen, the leading energy transition financial advisor operating through three offices in Africa and a team of 15 focusing exclusively on the African market.
The venture aims to raise a fund (strictly dedicated to professional investors) of US$ 200 million, to address a dynamic market with demand for bridge financing estimated at more than 600 million US$ per year.
Eiffel Investment Group plans to bring together investment from public and private institutions in this vehicle. The European Investment Bank has already initiated due diligence in view of investing up to 30 million US$ in the fund (subject to internal approvals). Other European and international public and private investors are also assessing the opportunity. Launch is targeted in the first half of 2022.
Pierre-Antoine Machelon, Head of Energy Transition at Eiffel Investment Group, said “We want to continue supporting those developers for whom we have already provided bridge financing, as well as other developers, within the context of their projects in Africa”, and added, “This is in line with our overall corporate strategy of responding to urgent demand for financing where no adequate solution is currently available in the market.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
