Loan financing stemming from the EEP Africa Catalyst window will accelerate REDAVIA’s commercial and industrial (C&I) solar leasing model with SMEs in Ghana and Kenya
NDF launched the EEP Catalyst window in 2019 as a pilot to provide follow-on debt financing to successful companies from the EEP Innovation grant portfolio. EEP Catalyst is an evolution of the EEP Africa platform that builds on a decade of grantmaking and a portfolio of close to 250 early stage clean energy companies to enable scale up of commercially viable clean energy solutions.
“This first EEP Catalyst loan to REDAVIA is a clear demonstration that we can deliver on the new NDF Strategy and its commitment to deliver flexible financing and catalytic impact. It has all the ingredients that define NDF’s added value in the Nordic climate financing landscape. It demonstrates our unique mix of financing instruments and capacity to blend and match solutions to support our partners, public or private,” said Karin Isaksson, managing director, NDF.
The loan represents a financing commitment of US$1.76mn and supports scale up of REDAVIA’s solar power leasing model toward C&I and SME clients in Ghana and Kenya.
“The relationship with REDAVIA started with a grant in 2015; now we are leveraging that good experience and pivoting to a lender role. This new injection of financing enables REDAVIA to accelerate the clean energy transition in the commercial and industrial sector and scale up solar farm installations in Ghana and Kenya. It culminates a multi-year vision to establish a follow-on debt financing window under EEP Africa,” Charles Wetherill, fund manager, EEP Africa, NDF.
EEP Catalyst financing will enable REDAVIA to scale up its operations and contribute to green jobs and green growth by installing 1.26 MWp and generating 1700 MWh/year of clean energy. The shift among SME and institutional clients to lower cost, clean energy consumption will lead to savings of USD 20,000/year in energy expenditures and reduce or avoid 730 tCO2e/year in GHG emissions.
