Finnfund invests in Evolution III to foster the availability of clean energy and climate mitigation in Africa

Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor, has announced a USD 20 million commitment to Evolution III Fund, a Pan-African equity fund aiming to foster the availability and accessibility of clean energy and increase energy efficiency.

Riikka Molander, Associate Director & Head of Funds at Finnfund said: “Our investment in Evolution III Fund marks our commitment to enhancing the production and availability of clean energy across the African continent as well as fight against climate change. This investment builds on several Finnfund’s strategic goals, such as making EUR 1 billion worth of new investment in climate finance by 2030 as well as maintaining our investment portfolio carbon net negative.”

Finnfund’s commitment is part of the first closing of the fund, managed by Inspired Evolution Managers Limited, a Pan-African climate-centred private equity firm specialising in clean energy infrastructure and energy and resource-efficiency growth investments.

Roggeveld Wind in South Africa is one of the investments of Evolution II, the predecessor of Evolution III.

Evolution III closed at USD 199.4 million in conditional commitments from seven international investors, including several development finance institutions, allowing a further 12–18 months window to reach its target close of USD 400 million in capital commitments. The Fund will target around 10 to 15 investments over an investment period of five years.

Inspired Evolution has been involved in financing the development and operations of more than 2 GW of renewable energy infrastructure-type generation projects and multiple growth equity investments across Sub-Saharan Africa since 2007. The firm focuses on key climate-driven principal investment themes, namely clean energy infrastructure, energy access, energy and resource efficiency, and the value chains that support them.

In Africa, access to reliable and clean electricity remains far behind most other parts of the world. With electrification rate of 46%, 590 million people are still without access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This situation reinforces socio-economic inequalities and impedes progress in increasing.

Africa has tremendous solar and wind potential and vast hydropower resources. The funding needed to facilitate Africa’s energy transition to a net-zero energy mix by 2050 is estimated to be around USD 2.8 trillion. For Africa to achieve its climate action and energy SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), its generation capacity must be doubled by 2030 and multiplied five-fold by 2050.

More information:
Riikka Molander, Associate Director & Head of Funds, riikka.molander@finnfund.fi, tel. +358 50 369 4039
Kirsi Pere, Communications Manager, kirsi.pere@finnfund.fi, +358 40 620 9767 (media contacts)