Actis offloads African renewables platform BTE Renewables to Engie and Meridiam; Yellow raises $14 million Series B funding to expand business and product offerings; GEAPP and CHD pool in resources for DRE in Nigeria through a new local currency subordinated debt vehicle.
BTE Renewables changes hands: Global sustainable infrastructure investor Actis is selling Africa based renewable energy platform BTE Renewables to France's Engie and Meridiam for an undisclosed amount. Previously BioTherm Energy, BTE Renewables is focused on utility scale wind and solar projects and has an operational capacity of around 500 MW currently, comprising 5 projects in South Africa and 1 in Kenya. Its proprietary pipeline of projects under development of more than 5 GW across Africa. While Engie takes over the South African portfolio and team, Meridiam will acquire Kenyan portfolio and team under the deal.
$14 million for solar start-up: Malawi based pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar energy startup Yellow has raised $14 million Series B funding led by Convergence Partners, and participated by Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF) and Platform Investment Partners. It aims to use the proceeds to expand its product offerings to include other mobile financial services and expand its reach to more customers, according to local media reports. It plans to strengthen its business in Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Madagascar as well. Its total debt and equity funding has now increased to $45 million.
Financial support for DRE in Nigeria: The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and Nigerian investment firm, Chapel Hill Denham (CHD) plan to support distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects in Nigeria through a new local currency subordinated debt vehicle. Called the Energy Transition & Access Facility for Africa (ETAFA), it is structured as a Naira-denominated, low-cost long-term financing to help make DRE more affordable for lower income consumers. The vehicle will have GEAPP contributing an initial $10 million to mobilize an additional $40 million from CHD's Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund. It will help address the barriers for DRE developers resulting due to currency mismatches between their revenues and borrowings.