Infinity Power, a joint venture between Egypt’s Infinity and UAE’s Masdar, has completed the acquisition of the entire shareholding of Lekela Power
The transaction makes Infinity Power the largest renewable energy company on the African continent. Infinity’s key stakeholders include Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Lekela currently operates 1GW of wind power projects in South Africa, Egypt and Senegal, and has a 1.8GW project pipeline, which are in various stages of development.
The transaction was funded through equity investment from shareholders and debt from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking (Absa CIB) and Mauritian Commercial Bank (MCB)
Mohamed Ismail Mansour, chairman, Infinity Power, commented, “Having successfully finalised the Lekela acquisition, we will build upon this milestone to reach our target of installing and operating 2GW of greenfield projects by 2025. With this transaction, we have delivered on the promise made during COP27 of being the fastest-growing renewable energy company in Africa. We continue to drive efforts that reduce carbon emissions, increase renewable energy sources, and develop efficient energy solutions for the entire region, in order to achieve our vision of providing clean, reliable and affordable electricity access to people in underserved communities across Africa.”
Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 president-designate, and chairman of Masdar, remarked, “Through our investment in Infinity Power Masdar is able to extend its reach across Africa and support developing nations on their clean energy transitions. This acquisition will give Infinity Power greater scale to deploy practical climate solutions that deliver measureable outcomes, in line with the COP28 objective of being inclusive, transparent, pragmatic, and results oriented.”
By developing renewable projects in Africa, Infinity Power aims to improve energy access across the continent, while boosting economic development and creating much-needed jobs, particularly in remote areas. Infinity Power’s total capacity of operational projects is 1.3GW, which equates to a reduction of more than 3 million tons of CO2 emissions per year using conventional power generation. The company also has 13.8GW of projects in the pipeline at different stages of development.
Africa’s installed renewable capacity is set to grow from 54GW in 2020 to more than 530GW by 2040, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), with solar PV soaring to 340GW, and wind rising to 90GW. Increasing renewable energy resources will also drive energy access, with almost half of Africa’s population still without access to electricity.
