WEST AFRICA – The Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) has acted as lead arranger for a €60million (US$70.89m) multi-country facility for AktivCo SAS’ subsidiaries in Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.
FEI will provide €27 million (US$31.90m) of the total amount and is being joined by Proparco which will provide €16 million (US$18.90m), Norfund €9 million (US$10.63m) and AfricaGoGreen which will provide €8 million (US$9.45m).
AktivCo SAS is an Energy Services Company (ESCO) and fully owned subsidiary of Camusat Group, a global player for the roll-out of telecom networks.
AktivCo provides energy solutions to telecom network operators in Africa, including the construction of renewable energy power plants for telecom towers, replacing polluting diesel generators.
The telecom clients benefit from outsourcing a substantial part of their infrastructure while improving their service uptime and reducing their carbon footprint.
“This transaction demonstrates the innovative and client-oriented ethos of FEI. The FEI team Led by Orli Arav, offered AktivCo a solution which was not readily available in the market,” said Clemens Calice, Co-CEO of LHGP Asset Management, FEI’s Fund Manager.
“This multi-country loan will allow AktivCo to achieve its growth target and provide clean energy to telecom towers located in some of the most remote areas in West Africa.”
“This multi-country loan will allow AktivCo to achieve its growth target and provide clean energy to telecom towers located in some of the most remote areas in West Africa.”
Aktivco owns 3,000 sites in its portfolio and aims to operate 10,000 sites by 2025.
The transaction structured by FEI is innovative, and one of the first multi-country telecom ESCO financings in Africa which allows AktivCo to finance its individual African operating companies directly without a parent company guarantee.
“We are very happy to set up this multi-country Facility, which reflects the level of maturity reached by our ESCO activities and will be a stepping stone in the development of Aktivco,” added Richard Thomas, CEO of Camusat Group.
“It reinforces our ability to meet the Telecom Operators’ demand for green and efficient energy to secure their networks. I would like to personally congratulate our Lenders’ and LHGP Asset management teams, as well as Camusat Group’s financial team for their hard work in making this innovative agreement possible.”
FEI is designed to support small-scale Independent Power Producers (IPPs) delivering power to the grid, mini-grids, C&I and captive power projects. The Fund is managed by Lion’s Head Asset Management.
FEI was set up by the African Development Bank as part of its New Deal for Africa initiative. In addition to the investment by the AFDB, FEI received equity funding from KFW and Norfund and a loan commitment from the Austrian Development Bank.
The AFDB also invested on behalf of the Clean Technology Fund and the European Commission.
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