Impact investment consultancy Gaïa Impact, together with a consortium of investors including Capital Croissance, Schneider Electric, Capelan and Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), has announced a first closing of 40 million euros for its second impact fund. This is a first step for the Gaïa Energy Impact Fund II, which is aiming for a final closing of 80 million euros by the first half of 2024. The fund will invest to improve access to renewable energies, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Following the successful deployment of a first fund launched in 2017, which invested in a dozen companies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, including Osmosun, which has just successfully floated on Euronext Growth, Gaïa Impact is continuing its investment strategy. The second fund has just reached €40 million, i.e. 50% of its target, and has already completed its first €1 million investment in Surechill, a Kenyan company specializing in medical refrigeration. The GEIF II fund, which has Article 9 status under SFDR regulations, aims to finance start-ups and SMEs active in the decentralized renewable energy value chain. These are power generation solutions based on low-voltage installations, particularly suited to the networks of sub-Saharan Africa, Gaïa Impact's preferred market. The investment consultancy company has the status of a company with a mission, and has dedicated its investment thesis to the energy transition. Its targets? Very small and medium-sized businesses producing low-carbon energy or providing direct access to renewable energies in emerging countries.
The investors' ambition is to improve access to energy for 4 million people, create 20,000 jobs and avoid 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Consortium of investors
Among the investors alongside Gaïa Impact, Capital Croissance, a private equity management company with 700 million euros under management, joined the round. GEIF II also called on anchor investors to secure the project. These include the Schneider Electric group, the Capelan family-office and I&P, a specialist in unlisted investments in Africa. The GEIF II fund is designed to invest between €500,000 and €5 million, in Series A and Series B seed capital. The investors' ambition is to improve access to energy for 4 million people, create 20,000 jobs and avoid the emission of 4 million tonnes of CO2. Hélène Demaegt, president and founder of Gaïa Impact, is delighted with this team investment strategy: "Thanks to them [our partners], our action in favour of the energy transition in Africa is taking on a new dimension". A major challenge, given that Africa, which accounts for just 3% of total global investment in the energy sector, could cover 60% of the world's solar energy production potential, but currently hosts just 1% of installations.
Céline Toni
