The CrossBoundary team. Image Credits: CrossBoundary
Leading clean power solutions provider, CrossBoundary Energy (CBE), has secured $45 million from The Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), a vehicle managed by investment firm Ninety One and backed by the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). This funding signals a resurgence of funding targeted at powering industrial growth in sub-Saharan Africa with renewable energy.
The $45 million capital injection forms part of a larger $300 milion debt facility put in place by the Standard Bank of South Africa, after it underwrote an initial $141.5 million tranche. CrossBoundary Energy will channel the funds into an intense expansion of its portfolio of commercial and industrial (C&I) renewable energy projects, which includes solar, wind, hybrid systems and battery storage.
CBE currently has a foothold across nine African nations which includes Nigeria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, and Madagascar, with an operational portfolio that encapsulates 25 projects valued at approximately $100 million while boasting of a generation capacity of 60MW and 22MWh of battery storage. The company is already mapping out plans for a future $560 million project pipeline, projected to hold 440MW of generation assets and over 570MWh of battery storage.
According to Esther Chan, Director at Ninety One, “This is EAAIF’s first foray into the C&I energy space in Africa, complementing our existing investments in large-scale utility renewable projects. Our partnership with CrossBoundary Energy is driven by a shared vision: to fuel Africa’s economic transformation through clean energy, empowering job-creating industries to flourish. We believe this investment exemplifies EAAIF’s mandate to finance infrastructure that tangibly boosts productivity and drives long-term development in pivotal sectors.” she explained.
The EAAIF funding is meant to expand CBEs reach within energy-intensive sectors that are the bedrock of economic growth such as manufacturing, telecommunication, and mining. However, these sectors are still prone to the complications associated with unreliable power supply. CBE offers solutions that will bring about efficient power supply, while boasting of reduced operational expenditure and a lower carbon footprint.
Pieter Joubert, President and Chief Investment Officer at CrossBoundary Energy, said. “The success we’ve seen with our existing projects and the strength of our pipeline clearly demonstrates the appetite for energy-as-a-service, especially within mining, telecommunications, and industrial sectors. The EAAIF commitment is a significant catalyst, providing crucial financing to scale our portfolio further. We are grateful to partners like EAAIF who share our dedication to fostering clean, sustainable growth across Africa.”
PIDG sees the investment as an alignment with its broader mission to mobilise private capital into infrastructure projects that support both economic development and climate objectives. The fund aims to deploy over $1 billion in debt capital across Africa and Asia by 2028, with a pronounced emphasis on renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure.
CBE’s energy-as-a-service model allows businesses to transition to cleaner energy sources, with solar panels on factory roofs, wind turbines powering mining operations, without the burden of upfront capital expenditure. CBE finances, builds, and operates the renewable energy systems, selling power to businesses under long-term contracts, often at rates competitive with or below grid tariffs and diesel generation.
