UK impact investing platform Ethex is to acquire Energise Africa, its sister investment platform, having co-founded it with joint venture partner Lendahand.
Ethex called the acquisition a “friendly agreement” with Lendahand, an ethical investment platform, and said it strengthens its ability to “mobilise citizen finance for global climate goals”.
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Energise Africa was launched in 2017, supported by UK Aid, as part of the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) programme, and Virgin Unite.
Since then, Energise Africa has enabled thousands of people in the UK to invest over £45m to finance clean and affordable energy access for more than one million people across Sub-Saharan Africa.
More than 600m people – mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa – remain without power and 3.2m die every year because of their reliance on polluting fuels, according to a new report, Empowering Development: Energy Access for Communities, published by the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee.
Ethex said that, following the acquisition, it will continue to build on Energise Africa’s “strong foundations” to make positive investing “accessible and impactful” in the UK and Africa.
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Earlier this year, Energise Africa formed a partnership with CEI Africa, securing a €2.5m (£2.2m) credit facility, which enabled it to offer blended finance to clean energy companies working across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ray Coyle will continue as chief executive of Energise Africa.
“This next step allows us to bring Energise Africa fully into the Ethex family under the leadership of Ray Coyle, enabling us to grow people-powered investing at home and in Africa with the same commitment to transparency, impact, and positive change,” said Lisa Ashford, chief executive of Ethex and director of Energise Africa.
“I am proud to continue leading Energise Africa and drive awareness of the positive impact investors can make to improve millions more lives and reduce thousands more tonnes of carbon emissions whilst still targeting a fair return,” Coyle added.
Earlier this year, Ethex secured £500,000 in funding from an impact investment consortium, with members including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to scale its business.
