Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), A.P. Moller Capital, DEG and Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU- Denmark), have launched ECP Power & Water Holding, a company that will invest in the industrial group Eranove.

ECP Power & Water Holding becomes the reference shareholder of the pan-African industrial group Eranove, a major player in the management of public services and the production of electricity and drinking water, in which ECP has been the largest shareholder since 2008.

This will help place the Eranove Group on a long-term path to increase its supply of electricity and clean water to millions of people in Africa.

The new company will put a priority on clean energy investments as Eranove underscores its commitments to the Green Transition and promoting sustainable and responsible development throughout Africa.

“This strategic partnership constitutes a key focus for ECP, which has established its position as a long-term investor in the water and electricity sectors on the continent. It is also a growth lever to finance the long-term development of the Eranove Group continuing and further expanding Eranove’s strong focus on sustainable and responsible development,” said Vincent le Guennou, Co-CEO of ECP and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eranove Group and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ECP Power & Water Holding.

The Eranove Group has been present in Côte d’Ivoire for several decades (SODECI, CIE, CIPREL, Awale, Smart Energy), in Senegal (SDE) since 1996.

In electricity generation, the group has two baseload power plants under construction and a strong pipeline of renewable energy projects – hydroelectric and solar – across Africa.

Eranove will further strengthen its commitment to social, societal and environmental responsibility, and to develop projects to meet the growing demand for electricity on the continent, as well as to reduce the carbon footprint of its existing subsidiaries, which has already been reduced by 25% per kWh produced since 2015.

“This investment in Eranove fits well with our strategy for The Africa Infrastructure Fund, namely, to support sustainable development on the African continent. Supplying reliable and cost-effective energy with low carbon emissions, for corporations and households is a necessity for further development in the continent,” said Jens Thomassen, Partner at A.P. Moller Capital.

“Our investment in Eranove Group is a unique opportunity to support a socially responsible and sustainably profitable institution that will continue to have significant positive socio-economic development impacts in Africa,” added Mackenzie Schow, Deputy Head of Equity Africa for DEG.

“We are very pleased with our investment in Eranove because the company has the potential to become a major supplier and distributor of energy and water in Africa, delivering sustainable services that support the green transition and enables people and businesses to prosper,” commented Torben Huss, CEO of IFU.