By Hauwa Ali
The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (NORFUND) has invested $40 million in CrossBoundary Energy (CBE), a company that finances and installs clean energy systems for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in Africa.
The NORFUND Investments is a joint venture between the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (NORFUND) and the Norwegian pension fund manager KPL. The two investors are injecting USD 40 million into CBE to support the expansion of its activities.
“We believe that distributed renewables are playing a critical role in driving towards the clean and sustainable growth of the commercial and industrial sector across Africa. The cost savings offered by renewable energy, coupled with the reliability of battery energy storage systems, allow companies like CrossBoundary Energy to provide the business sector with immediate cost savings whilst significantly reducing their eemissions.”KristofferValvik,NORFUND investment Manager said.
CBE, Kenya-based company finances, installs and leases clean energy plants to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers and has a solar, wind and storage portfolio worth $188 million.
This portfolio includes 50 MWp of PV assets, 50 MWh of battery storage assets and 12 MW of wind assets serving large C&I customers which ncludesBritish brewer Diageo in Nigeria, Dutch-British multinational food company Unilever in Kenya, Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto in Madagascar, Dutch brewer Heineken in Nigeria and Canadian mining company NextSource Materials in Madagascar.
CBE supplies clean energy to companies in 14 countries in Africa.
“We are very excited to welcome Norfund and KLP as investors. Their commitment is aligned with our belief that the business sector across Africa should be able to benefit from cheaper, cleaner and more reliable power. This investment validates CrossBoundary Energy’s position as a trusted provider of customer-centric renewable energy solutions to the African business community. We look forward to drawing on Norfund’s significant experience as seek to deliver an operational portfolio of over $300M in assets within the next 5 years.” saidPieter Joubert, President and Chief Investment Officer, CrossBoundary Energy.
The investment by Norfund and KLP is in addition to the $40 million injected into CBE in 2020 by ARCH Emerging Markets’ Africa Renewable Power Fund.
