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AIIM closes $370m financing for IDEAS Managed Fund – plans to keep investing in renewable energy

The 75 MW Waterloo solar plant was commissioned in 2020 and is majority owned by AIIM's IDEAS Fund.

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African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) has announced it has successfully completed a capital increase of ZAR 5.5 bn (about $370m) for its IDEAS Managed Fund (IDEAS) dedicated to infrastructure financing in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

“The new commitments were secured from 19 key South African institutional and pension fund investors, with two thirds of the capital being committed by new investors to the Fund,” AIIM said in a statement.

The fundraise notably exceeded the company’s initial ZAR4.5bn ($301m) target by 20% and has taken the size of the open-ended fund to over ZAR 22 bn ($1.475bn). IDEAS has already been a critical investor in some of Southern Africa’s most famous sustainable infrastructure projects, and has allocated 75% of its capital so far to the renewable energy space.

Such investments have notably seen the fund invest in several solar PV plants under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Freshly raised capital will support the expansion of IDEAS’ portfolio in additional sustainable infrastructure assets, with additional investment likely to be made into South Africa’s new renewable energy projects currently at the procurement stage.

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Kenya’s Kipeto wind farm has secured a $10m loan agreement to fund biodiversity

Earlier this month, the shareholders of Kipeto Energy Plc arranged a $10m pioneering loan agreement with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to finance human-wildlife initiatives around Kenya’s second biggest wind farm. The 100 MW Kipeto wind energy facility started commercial operations earlier this year and is developed by BTE Renewables, an Actis company, along with its local partner Craftskills Wind Energy International. The arrangement of this new loan is a first for Africa’s wind power industry and will see the implementation of several conservation initiatives, further demonstrating new models of funding for the sector. The funding will notably support the project’s biodiversity action plan (BAP) that seeks to improve the livelihoods of the Kajiado communities by creating jobs and building improved predator-proof animal enclosures for local farmers. “BTE and TNC designed the investment via a $10 million fixed-rate mezzanine loan to the project, alongside a commitment by the project to provide annual funding for critical conservation initiatives throughout the life of the wind power project,” BTE Renewables said in a statement. Full details on the Kipeto Wind Farm are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

Total Eren signs Shareholders Agreement for 35 MW solar PV project in Angola

Sonangol, Total Eren, and Greentech – Angola Environment Technology Ltd (Greentech) have announced that they executed last week the Shareholders Agreement establishing their partnership on the 35 MWp Quilemba Solar project in Angola. According to the agreement, Sonangol will be acquiring a 30% interest in Quilemba Solar Lda, while Total Eren and Greentech will own 51% and 19% respectively. The plant will be constructed in Lubango, capital of Angola’s Huíla Province. It has been in the making since late 2020, when Total Eren and Greentech signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Angolan Ministry of Energy and Water (MINEA) for the its construction and operation. Quilemba Solar is one of many utility-scale solar projects currently being developed in Angola, in line with the country’s vision to commission up to 500 MW of renewable energy capacity between 2022 and 2025. Italian major Eni is also involved in the development of a 50 MW solar PV plant in the country at the Bibala Municipality in the Namibe Province under a joint-venture with Sonangol called Solenova. Earlier this year, the consortium of Sun Africa, MCA Solar Angola and Hitachi ABB Power Grids also broke ground on 370 MW of solar PV projects in the country. These are split across seven different facilities now under-construction, including the 188.88 MWdc Biopioa solar plant and the 96.70 MWdc Benguela solar plant. Last month, Sun Africa took its commitment to Angola a step further with the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the development of Africa’s largest mini-grid and rural electrification project at a cost of $1.5bn. Full details on Sun Africa, Total Eren and Solenova’s solar projects in Angola are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.