Two French firms, Echosys Invest and Rgreen Invest, recently announced the first close of their Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund with EUR 88 million (USD 93 million) to finance solar power plants for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The fund will focus on Central and West Africa, and it is to include local-currency financing for projects in Ghana and Nigeria. Echosys Invest and Rgreen continue to seek investments for the fund, aiming to reach a final volume of EUR 100 million (USD 106 million) to be deployed to about 25 firms for terms of about nine years.
The recent commitments come from two France-based banks, BNP Paribas and Société Générale, as well as four development finance institutions: BIO (the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries), the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and France-based Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Économique (Proparco).
EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle said, “As the EU Climate Bank, the EIB is pleased to provide EUR 25 million [USD 26 million] to back targeted on- and off-grid solar investment by Afrigreen across West and Central Africa to support SMEs and SMIs [small and medium-sized industrials] in their energy transition, reduce fossil fuel imports and cut carbon emissions.”
Rgreen is a fund manager that was founded in 2013 and is active in renewable energy and other opportunities related to adapting to and mitigating climate change. As of February 2023, the firm reported assets under management valued at EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.7 billion).
Echosys Invest is owned in equal portions by Rgreen and the France-based investment firm Echosys Advisory. Echosys Advisory was founded in 2020 and finances renewable energy and agricultural activity deemed sustainable. Financial details on the firm have not been made public.
BNP Paribas was formed when Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) acquired a majority stake in Paribas in 1999. The bank operates in 72 countries and reports net income of EUR 10.2 billion (USD 10.8 billion) for 2022. As of February 2023, BNP Paribas values its impact investments at EUR 200 million (USD 211 million).
Société Générale is a financial institution that was established in 1864 and offers retail and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and investment management services in 76 countries. For the quarter ending March 2022, it reported group net income of EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.7 billion) on total assets of EUR 1.5 trillion (USD 1.6 trillion).
By Ben Barba, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Rgreen homepage
https://www.rgreeninvest.com
Echosys Advisory homepage
https://echosys.co
Previous MicroCapital story on BIO
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-story-kfw-belgian-investment-company-for-developing-countries-bio-developpement-international-desjardins-lundin-foundation-commit-41m-to-africinvest-financial-sector-fund/
Previous MicroCapital story on BNP Paribas
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-bnp-paribas-loans-9-4m-to-creditaccess-grameen-of-india-for-microfinance/
Previous MicroCapital story on EIB
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-eib-lends-credo-bank-10m-for-msmes-in-georgia/
Previous MicroCapital story on IFC
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-insurtech-pasarpolis-of-indonesia-raises-5m-in-equity-from-international-finance-corporation-ifc-for-microinsurance/
Previous MicroCapital story on Proparco
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-fmo-proparco-lend-125m-to-nmb-for-msme-agriculture-green-financing-in-tanzania/
Previous MicroCapital story on Société Générale
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-societe-generale-launches-yup-mobile-wallet-ivory-coast-senegal/
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