It took almost ten months, but now the state support for EWIA from CEI Africa is in the bag. 373,000 euros will be made available to refinance solar investments in the form of a mezzanine loan. The investment complements the EUR 1.19 million investment raised last year through EWIA's crowdfunding campaign on FunderNation. The co-investment will also serve to mobilise further private impact investments via digital financing.
CEI Africa is the ‘Foundation for Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa’, which was established in 2021 by KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to improve access to energy for rural and peri-urban households and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to create an essential prerequisite for economic development and greater prosperity in Africa. Over 1.3 billion people currently live on the continent. It is estimated that around 580 million people in Africa - around 45% of the population - have no access to electricity. The lack of electricity impairs economic development, access to education or healthcare and therefore people's prospects.
Impact through expertise and capital
‘Our investment in EWIA, which is also the first off-grid C&I transaction under the Foundation's crowdlending window, will not only support the growth of economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa and lead to tangible impact for small and medium-sized enterprises, but also boost private investment in the sector through crowdfunding,’ emphasises Steven Evers, member of the Executive Board of CEI Africa.
CEI Africa invests at a ratio of 2:1 in addition to the capital raised through FunderNation. This means that for every EUR 2 invested via the digital financing platform, CEI Africa provides an additional EUR 1. Following the conclusion of a framework agreement in September 2023, CEI Africa subjected EWIA and its previous projects to an extensive review before the money was made available.
‘This cooperation is not only an important contribution to the further expansion of our business activities and thus to our mission to supply companies in sub-Saharan Africa with reliable, affordable and climate-friendly electricity,’ emphasises Timo Schäfer, CFO of EWIA. ‘It is also a significant signal of confidence to our private investors.’
CEI Africa is managed by Triple Jump B.V. and implemented together with partners Persistent and GreenMax Capital Group. It is a one-stop-shop for mini-grid developers and other off-grid energy companies and offers a variety of financing instruments. The implementation of the foundation's crowdlending window, which offers debt and investment products in collaboration with European crowdfunders, is led by Persistent. CEI Africa has committed €28 million to support off-grid energy companies and developers of mini-grid projects through co-financing with crowdfunders, including the provision of technical assistance.
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