Africa’s one of the top investors of private capital, Actis, could invest up to $300 million yearly in natural resources like renewable energy and gas-fired power projects on the continent, as per a senior official.
The leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure has invested more than $2 billion in energy infrastructure in Africa during the last two decades. This was done in areas like utility-scale renewable projects, commercial and industrial solar plants, and power generation with natural gas.
Actis’ Head of Energy in the Middle East and Africa, Lisa Pinsley, said it intended to scale up such investments. Talking about the investments in an interview with the British news agency Reuters, she said, “We could be looking at investing $200 to $300 million a year if the opportunity presents itself. We certainly have the appetite, and we have the funds. It’s a question of whether we find the right opportunity.”
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Africa only accounts for 2% of the world’s renewable energy capacity, compared to 8% for South America and 48% of Asia. The agency is an intergovernmental organization supporting countries in their transition to sustainable energy.
Pinsley further said that investors gain more opportunities if the continent’s capacity for renewable resources increases. However, the organization needs to consider investment returns compared to other regions. Most resources in Africa are state-owned while many faces financial misery. She also emphasized that returns will have to show the risk so that private investors are more attracted.
Pinsley said, “Actis will also invest in gas infrastructure and gas-to-power projects, but it would not invest in any liquid fuel or oil and gas exploration and production projects in Africa.”
Africa gives out even less than 3 percent of the global energy-linked carbon emission but on the other hand, it is most unjustly affected by climate change.
At the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, African leaders urged that in order to help their populations escape poverty, they should be permitted to utilize their oil and gas resources.
