{"id":85790,"date":"2024-08-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/08\/01\/gaia-helios-raise-usd-400-mn-in-funds-for-africas-climate-drive\/"},"modified":"2024-08-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T00:00:00","slug":"gaia-helios-raise-usd-400-mn-in-funds-for-africas-climate-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/08\/01\/gaia-helios-raise-usd-400-mn-in-funds-for-africas-climate-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaia, Helios raise USD 400 mn in funds for Africa\u2019s climate drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

A boost for Africa\u2019s climate drive:<\/strong> South Africa's Gaia Fund Managers<\/a> is raising USD 200 mn for its Gaia Africa Climate Fund<\/a> as it targets investments in renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa, Bloomberg<\/a> reports. The Luxembourg-based fund is set to be fully capitalized by the end of 2025 and aims to attract US and European investors with some of the investors pledging USD 50 mn this year, Managing Director Renier de Wit told Bloomberg. Gaia also plans to list investment vehicles on the Kenyan and Botswana stock exchanges to attract institutional and pension fund investors.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not all: <\/strong>British private equity firm Helios Investment Partners<\/a> has raised an initial USD 200 mn for its Helios Climate, Energy Access, and Resilience Fund (CLEAR), bringing the fund closer to its USD 400 mn target, Reuters<\/a> reports, citing a statement. The funds will support African companies in low carbon energy, climate smart agriculture and food, climate friendly mobility and logistics, recycling and resource efficiency, and digital and financial climate \u201cenablers.\u201d They came from the UK\u2019s FCDO, European Investment Bank, British International Investment, Dutch Development Bank and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets among others.<\/p>\n

Why this matters:<\/strong> The funds will help address the significant energy access gap in Africa \u2014 where about half the population lacks electricity, according to Bloomberg. The continent has vast renewable energy resources that remain unutilized due to a lack of funding.<\/p>\n

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Britain raises renewables auction budget to GBP 1.5 bn: <\/strong>The UK\u2019s new Labour government has increased its current annual renewable power auction budget by 50% to a record high GBP 1.5 bn (USD 1.9 bn), Reuters<\/a> reports. A higher budget will pave the way for more projects to be selected and offered a minimum price of electricity. When the prices are lower than the minimum, the budget will compensate for the difference while producers pay back the difference when the prices go up. Around GBP 1.1 bn will be dedicated to offshore wind, with GBP 185 mn going to established technologies and GBP 270 mn channeled towards emerging technologies. The Labour government aims to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2030. <\/p>\n

We knew this was coming: <\/strong>Britain\u2019s renewables industry has been calling on the government to increase the renewable auction budget<\/a> after the 2023 auction failed to incentivize new wind projects. The budget was first set at GBP 1 bn with analysts saying that they should be raised to GBP 1.5 bn.<\/p>\n

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