PIDG & IFDK join Sanlam in backing the growth of Africa GreenCo’s market-enabling renewable energy platform
Lusaka, Zambia – Pioneering regional energy trader and intermediary off taker, Africa GreenCo, has today announced an additional USD 11.5m investment from its existing shareholders – ARE Member Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and Impact Fund Denmark (IFDK – formerly IFU). The announcement follows recent news of the entry of new private-sector investor, Sanlam Alternative Investments, one of Africa’s largest institutional investors, bringing the total third close fund raise to USD 21.5m.
Delivered through PIDG’s project development solution, InfraCo, the latest investment complements previous PIDG support provided to Africa GreenCo through its technical assistance, project development, and guarantee capabilities.
Africa GreenCo has been actively trading for almost five years, having gained its membership of the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) in late 2021, which complements its licenses in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. Since then, growth has been significant, with over 1.4 TWhs traded so far this year. As a bankable off taker for renewable energy Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Africa GreenCo increases energy security and curbs emissions by balancing clean energy services across multiple markets. It also strengthens regional integration through its role as a full market participant in each of SAPP’s competitive markets.
Founder and Group CFO, Pug Bennet, said the following in relation to today’s announcement: “There is no stronger testament to the faith in a business than to see investment from both new and existing shareholders. The additional financial strength provided by these investments, along with the other facilities provided by GuarantCo and the European Commission under their EFSD+ programme, will allow GreenCo to further support the energy transition in the region and act as a key stakeholder in viable energy infrastructure.”
Thomas Hougaard, Managing Director and Co-Head of Green Energy and Infrastructure at IFDK said, “IFDK is a proud shareholder of Africa GreenCo, having supported the company since its first capital raise. In 2025, IFDK further supported Africa GreenCo by helping mobilise a EUR 50 million guarantee facility, enabling the company to attract additional private capital by welcoming Sanlam to the table, and accelerate the energy transition in Southern Africa.”
PIDG Head of Business Development (Africa) for InfraCo, Omar Jabri said, “Alongside our long-time partners at IFDK, we are pleased to welcome Sanlam, a company which brings private-sector capital and deep institutional expertise, and to enhance our own support for the next phase of Africa GreenCo’s growth. By scaling its successful model to rapidly transform the region’s renewable energy landscape, Africa GreenCo’s work aligns well with PIDG’s mandate of mobilising infrastructure finance to address the urgency of the climate crisis and promote sustainable economic development.”
Mark Moorhouse, Executive Head of Infrastructure Finance at Sanlam Alternative Investments, the alternative asset manager with Sanlam Investments, added: “Africa GreenCo occupies the part of the energy value chain that determines whether new power generation is ultimately delivered. For us, this is a natural extension of more than a decade of infrastructure investment across the continent: backing the market architecture that allows Africa to finance its own energy transition on commercial terms, while supporting the reliable, increasingly low-carbon power that economic growth depends on. The transaction with Africa GreenCo is aligned with our ambition to become the premier sustainability-led impact investor globally and reinforces our commitment to Africa’s energy transition,” says Moorhouse. “That transition will only scale when the continent has access to its own creditworthy, commercially bankable market infrastructure.”
With demand for electricity growing rapidly, governments across Africa are faced with the challenge of developing a strong pipeline of energy projects which can attract private sector investment whilst also addressing the climate crisis. Africa GreenCo’s model serves as a market-enabling renewable energy platform, supporting both national utilities and energy buyers.
Under its guarantee arrangements with the European Commission-funded EFSD+ programme, PIDG company GuarantCo’s support, together with the additional investments made as part of the third close, will strengthen Africa GreenCo’s liquidity buffer and risk-bearing capacity, enabling the company to support up to 900 MW of renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) and provide the payment security required to make these projects bankable.