A private equity impact fund invests in renewable energy access companies in East Africa

AlphaMundi Group is proud to announce the beginning of collaborations with two companies which provide energy solutions in East Africa.

As a part of the collaborations, Fenix International and SolarNow will receive investments from AlphaMundi’s Social Alpha-Bastion impact fund to finance the next stage of their growth.

GVEP International, AlphaMundi’s technical advisor on energy investments in Africa, actively supports the collaboration.

Tim Radjy, CEO of AlphaMundi, stated: “Our investments in SolarNow and Fenix International are the first of a series of contributions by AlphaMundi to the UN Year of Sustainable Energy for All, and the prelude to the launch of Prometheus Fund, a private equity impact fund.

Prometheus will be managed by AlphaMundi, with technical advisory from GVEP, and will invest in renewable energy access for the poor in Africa.”

AlphaMundi Group

AlphaMundi is a Swiss company exclusively dedicated to poverty reduction and environmental preservation through impact investing, with an emphasis on developing countries. AlphaMundi provides debt and equity financing to profitable and scalable ventures in strategic sustainable development sectors such as microfinance, education, agriculture and renewable energy. AlphaMundi also contributes to market building through impact investing education events, publications, and advisory services. www.alphamundi.ch 

Fenix International

Fenix International produces ultra-affordable power generation and smart energy storage solutions to empower more than 1.3 billion people living off-grid. The flagship product is called the Readyset: an intelligent plug-and-play energy system that can power lights, radios, mobile phones, and a range of additional applications. Fenix is a for-profit corporation based in San Francisco, California with customers across multiple markets and core expertise in power electronics, product design, and-base-of‐the-pyramid marketing. Fenix has been prominently featured in the New York Times, Fast Company, Popular Mechanics, CNET, Venturebeat, and has won several awards and honors since it was founded in 2009. www.fenixintl.com

GVEP International

GVEP International (Global Village Energy Partnership) aims to reduce poverty through increased access to modern energy services in developing countries. GVEP helps establish and grow micro, small and medium size energy enterprises so that they can deliver sustainable access to clean energy and in turn improve the quality of life in developing countries. In the last five years, GVEP’s work has helped improve the lives of over one million people. GVEP and AlphaMundi are also partners in the Prometheus Fund, an impact investment fund focused on renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa, which is currently in its pre‐launch, fundraising phase. www.gvepinternational.org

SolarNow

SolarNow is a Netherlands-based company selling and distributing solar home systems with a hire purchase facility to rural households in Uganda. SolarNow’s mission is to make solar energy accessible and affordable to millions of off-grid people in Africa. Solar energy allows rural households to reduce their energy expenses and improve their living standards. The AlphaMundi investment will be used to finance the rapid growth of the hire purchase portfolio. SolarNow envisions opening branches in other east African markets in 2013 and beyond. www.solarnow.eu

UN Year of Sustainable Energy for All 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is leading a global initiative on sustainable energy for all to mobilize action  from all sectors of society in support of three interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2030: providing universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2012 the International year of Sustainable Energy for All, recognizing that “…access to modern affordable energy services in developing countries is essential for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and sustainable development, which would help to reduce poverty and to improve the conditions and standard of living for the majority of the world’s population.”

The UN General Assembly is encouraging Member States and other actors to increase the awareness of the importance of addressing energy issues and to promote action at the local, national, regional and international levels. www.sustainableenergyforall.org 

Contact Information

Tim Radjy 
CEO
AlphaMundi Group
info[at]alphamundi[dot]ch
Tel. +41 44 5080 556

Ben Good
CEO
GVEP International
info[at]gvepinternational[dot]org
Tel. +44 207 242 8602

Mike Lin
CEO
Fenix International
contact[at]fenixintl[dot]com
Tel. +1 925 603 3649

Willem Nolens
CEO
SolarNow
info[at]solarnow[dot]eu 
Tel. +31 626 696 693