Africa Go Green Fund signs a USD 5.5 million loan with Bboxx to support the rollout of renewable energy and clean cooking systems across Africa

18th January 2022 - On December 21st 2021, The Africa Go Green Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency S.A., SICAV RAIF (“AGG”) signed its second transaction, a USD 5.5m medium-term senior secured loan with Bboxx Capital Limited (“Bboxx”), a holding company for several next-generation utility companies expanding access to clean energy and clean cooking across Africa.

Bboxx is an industry leader and a global pioneer of Pay-As-You Go (PAYG) solar home systems and more recently LPG clean cooking stoves solutions. Operating across the DRC, Rwanda, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, their innovative products are priced and sized to be accessible by low-income households and are sold on credit plans that are priced to fit. Having established itself as a leading off-grid energy access player in Africa, the company identified LPG clean cooking as a product that meets the demands of an increasing number of its customers and aligns with its mission to transform lives and unlock potential through access to energy.

The latest agreement between AGG and Bboxx will help drive efforts to overcome barriers to clean cooking adoption by providing accessible commercial solutions. This includes addressing issues such as distribution complexity and a lack of customer purchasing power, in a step towards ensuring clean energy access for all.

LPG as a cooking fuel has been identified as a product that can help solve many of Africa’s most pressing energy and environmental issues, from the destruction and damage of natural resources to the negative health and climate impact from burning wood and charcoal. AGG’s loan to Bboxx will help to underpin the mitigation of an estimated 760,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 150,000 passenger cars being driven regularly for a year. This is in line with AGG’s mandate to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

AGG was initiated by KfW on behalf of the German Government to promote private investments which mitigate or reduce the emission of Green House Gases (GHG). AGG was launched with initial capital of €32 million and a Technical Assistance Facility of €3 million (first close). The Fund targets Energy Efficiency projects in all of Africa with a focus on West Africa, investing in Senior and Mezzanine loans with significant flexibility to tailor terms to the needs of borrowers. The Fund is managed by Lion’s Head Asset Management.

Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and Co-Founder of Bboxx, commented: “With the climate crisis continuing to gather at pace, it is now more vital than ever that the provision of clean energy for all is accelerated, in line with the UN’s SDG7 – clean energy for all. This is especially true for areas where a significant proportion of the population is living without access to electricity or clean cooking facilities, and we are therefore delighted that this loan will enable us to ramp up our delivery of affordable, clean electricity and clean cooking solutions across Africa. We are pleased to work with AGG and thankful for their support and recognition of the importance of our endeavours, forming part of our wider mission to transform lives and unlock potential in the developing world.”

“We are tremendously pleased to be able to support Bboxx’s ambitions to tackle the environmental and health issues arising from using firewood and charcoal for cooking. This transaction demonstrates how combatting climate change requires multiple approaches. AGG has been created to support Africa’s most innovative companies with tailored and flexible capital.”, said Clemens Calice, Portfolio Manager for Africa Go Green Fund.