African Investment Fund CrossBoundary Energy Raises $8 Million For Mass Solar Deployment

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African renewable energy investment fund CrossBoundary Energy has announced the successful raising of $8 million in equity it intends to turn to solar power deployment across the continent of Africa.

The renewable energy investment fund made the announcement this week, revealing that it had closed the CrossBoundary Energy Fund I, “Africa’s first dedicated fund for Commercial & Industrial solar,” in which it raised $8 million in equity. The fund intends to, after debt leverage, invest a total of over $25 million into solar assets throughout Africa over the next 18 months.

“Due to a dramatic fall in cost, solar is now a viable alternative energy source for businesses in Africa,” the fund noted in its press release, Monday. “But it needs finance to be attractive.”

“Africa is undergoing an energy revolution and has become a laboratory for pioneering new methods of energy delivery,” said Matt Tilleard, co-Managing Partner of CrossBoundary. “A key driver of this has been the dramatic fall in cost of solar power – down by over 80% since 2008. Solar is now often cheaper than the grid in a majority of African countries.”

CrossBoundary Energy intends to deploy its investment capital through SolarAfrica, “a platform that provides solar installers a fully financed ‘[Power Purchase Agreement] in a box’ to offer customers.” As a result, SolarAfrica will utilize the investment funds, in combination with technical oversight and asset management from NVI Energy, to allow African firms to install solar on their buildings, and pay for the assets over time.

“SolarAfrica already has a strong network of partners and we are actively looking for new installers or developers who are interested in offering a financed solar solution to their potential customers,” added Matt Tilleard.

“We are currently in operation in Kenya and are hoping to expand to up to three additional countries in the next three to six months. Our funding is available for solar projects above 100 kWp that serve commercial and industrial customers.”


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Joshua S Hill

I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

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