Apex Group to administer first of a kind climate fund to boost green investment

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Leading financial services provider Apex Group has been appointed as the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) and administrator of a first of a kind fund aimed at supporting renewable energy infrastructure in Sub Saharan Africa. The Gaia Africa Climate Fund is targeting investment of up to $200 million in assets.

The fund will allow institutional investors to participate in the equity of established utility-scale renewable energy projects in African markets. Operating from Luxembourg, Apex Group has also been appointed as alternative investment fund manager.

The Climate Fund aims to create a secondary market for renewable energy developers and early-stage investors in Sub Saharan Africa to offload or sell their equity holdings following the completion of projects’ construction.

The fund will play a key role in deepening private capital markets across the African continent and aims to complete the raise of $50 million in its first round of funding by the end of the year.

The fund will also help address a key impediment to the momentum of new renewable energy projects in Africa, namely exit holders of developers’ stakes in new builds. The new fund will bring some certainty here and reassure developers that their capital will be released from the project once it is in operation and yielding predictable cashflows. The fund is raising capital from European and American institutional investors as well as their counterparts in Africa.

Kavitha Ramachandran, chief operating officer at Apex Group Luxembourg, comments, “We are delighted to be working with Gaia as a lead service provider for this pioneering and path breaking climate fund and look forward to help drive positive change in an area which is so closely aligned with the Apex Group’s sustainability goals.

“Bringing a wider range of global investors into this market will be key to delivering a range of important infrastructure projects across Africa that will not only support local economies, but also help mitigate climate change and create the sustainable infrastructure demanded by the future.”

Renier de Wit, managing director of Gaia Fund Managers, said:
“The Gaia Africa Climate Fund is highly catalytic. By enabling ecosystem change in the climate infrastructure development cycle of Sub Saharan Africa and at the same time crowd-in private capital for investment in these operational assets, we will change the landscape permanently.  Gaia is excited to work with the Apex Group as our partners in Luxembourg for this ambitious project. Apex Group’s vast experience, geographical reach and like-minded outlook on imapct investing ensures a natural fit for the selections as AIFM and administrator to the Gaia Africa Climate Fund.”

The fund was selected as one of four funds to be accelerated by the Luxembourg-based. International Climate Finance Accelerator in 2021 for its importance in creating access to renewable energy as an asset class on the continent.

The Gaia Africa Climate Fund is an Article 9 fund and is aligned with several of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), including access to affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), climate action (SDG 13), and industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG9).

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About Apex Group
Apex Group Ltd., established in Bermuda in 2003, is a global financial services provider. With over 13,000 employees globally, Apex Group provides services into 50 jurisdictions delivering an expansive range of services to asset managers, financial institutions, private clients, and family offices.

The Group has continually improved and evolved its capabilities to offer a single-source solution through establishing the broadest range of services in the industry; including fund raising solutions, fund administration, digital onboarding and bank accounts, depositary, custody, super ManCo, corporate services and pioneering ESG and sustainability services. Apex Group’s purpose is to be more than just a financial services provider and is committed to driving positive change to address three core areas; the environment and climate change, women’s empowerment and economic independence, education and social mobility.

About Gaia Fund Managers
Gaia was formed in Cape Town in 2012 to facilitate the investment of long-term investor capital in infrastructure projects in Southern Africa.

Gaia is considered a leading specialist secondary market infrastructure transaction team in the Southern African region, having concluded the first significant secondary market transaction in the South African renewable energy programme with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation as the seller.

As a first mover and brand leader, Gaia has concluded 12 renewable energy and one toll road transaction valued more than US$ 250 million, in addition to several other listed equity and private equity transactions.

Gaia’s second REIT was brought to market in 2023 whereby Gaia Renewables REIT Ltd offers investors access to commercial and industrial renewable energy systems.

For more information, visit http://www.gaia.group.