Staff Writer AFRICA GreenCo has secured a further US$11,5 million from existing shareholders as the regional renewable energy trader moves to expand its role in Southern Africa’s electricity market.
The investment from the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and Impact Fund Denmark (IFDK) brings the company’s third funding close to US$21,5 million, following the entry of Sanlam Alternative Investments as a new private-sector investor.
The latest funding is expected to strengthen GreenCo’s financial position and its ability to support renewable energy projects in the region.
GreenCo founder and group chief financial officer Pug Bennet said continued backing from both existing and new shareholders was a positive indication of confidence in the company’s model.
“There is no stronger testament to the faith in a business than to see investment from both new and existing shareholders,” Bennet said.
He said the additional capital, together with facilities provided by GuarantCo and the European Commission under its EFSD+ programme, would allow the company to increase its contribution to the regional energy transition.
“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,” he said.
GreenCo has been trading for less than five years after joining the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) in 2021. It holds licences in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa and has traded more than 1,4 terawatt-hours of electricity so far this year.
The company operates as an intermediary off-taker for renewable energy independent power producers, while also participating in SAPP’s competitive markets.
IFDK managing director and co-head of Green Energy and Infrastructure Thomas Hougaard said his organisation had backed GreenCo from its first capital raise.
“IFDK is a proud shareholder of Africa GreenCo, having supported the company since its first capital raise,” Hougaard said.
He said IFDK had also helped mobilise a €50 million guarantee facility in 2025, which supported the company’s efforts to attract further private investment.
“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,” he said.
PIDG head of business development for Africa at InfraCo Omar Jabri said the organisation was pleased to welcome Sanlam as an investor.
“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,” Jabri said.
He said GreenCo’s expansion was consistent with PIDG’s mandate of mobilising infrastructure finance and supporting sustainable economic development.
“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,” Jabri said.
Sanlam Alternative Investments executive head of infrastructure finance Mark Moorhouse said GreenCo operated in an important part of the energy value chain.
“Africa GreenCo occupies the part of the energy value chain that determines whether new power generation is ultimately delivered,” Moorhouse said.
He said Sanlam’s investment built on more than a decade of infrastructure investment across Africa.
“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,” he said.
Moorhouse said the investment also reflected Sanlam’s wider approach to sustainability-focused investment.
“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,” he said.
He added that the development of commercially bankable energy infrastructure would be important if renewable energy investment was to grow on the continent.
“That transition will only scale when the continent has access to its own creditworthy, commercially bankable market infrastructure,” Moorhouse said.
Africa continues to face rising electricity demand, while governments are under pressure to develop projects capable of attracting private capital.
GreenCo’s model is intended to support utilities and energy buyers by providing payment security and other market infrastructure needed to make renewable energy projects bankable.
The latest investments, together with guarantees provided through the European Commission-funded EFSD+ programme and PIDG company GuarantCo, are expected to increase GreenCo’s liquidity buffer and risk-bearing capacity.
According to the company, this could allow it to support up to 900MW of renewable energy power purchase agreements and provide payment security for the projects.
GreenCo is also preparing to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo, adding to its existing presence in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
The company said its position as an active SAPP market participant had enabled it to build experience in regional electricity trading while supporting the development of renewable energy infrastructure.
Sanlam is GreenCo’s first private institutional shareholder, joining PIDG and IFDK, which have supported the company since its earlier stages. The additional funding gives GreenCo further financial backing as it seeks to expand its trading activities and support a larger pipeline of renewable power projects in Southern Africa.
