Sanari Capital has announced a R87.5m ($5m) investment in  Energenic Holdings, a holding company for a group of businesses in the energy solutions space.

Energenic is the fourth portfolio company in the Sanari 3S Growth Fund and is Sanari’s first entry into the energy sector.

Energenic group of companies provides a range of energy generation products and solutions in over 32 African countries. 

The company’s solutions provide reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to key growth sectors on the continent including telecommunications, tourism and general commerce. 

The capital will be used to fund the scaling of the business both within South Africa and across the rest of the continent.

Africa’s infrastructure challenges, particularly in the energy sector, and the low and declining electrification rates - in many countries averaging 30% - are fuelling the demand for alternative power solutions with a growing emphasis on renewable hybrid solutions that address both energy access and reliability as well as climate change. 

Sanari is committed to being part of the solution in addressing these challenges, deploying its approach of partnering with management teams to build businesses that are Sustainable, Scalable and Saleable (Sanari 3S).

Sihle Gumede, Partner at Sanari Capital, who led the investment, said, “We are thrilled to partner with the management team at Energenic as we embark on an exciting journey to expand and scale the business across the African continent. For decades, Energenic has been pioneering energy solutions within the diesel generator space. The spirit of innovation, combined with over 20 years of deep knowledge, expertise and experience, is now driving the focus and investment into the broader alternative energy space. The demand for hybrid solutions that provide energy security and tailored usage management for businesses is highly relevant in our environment where concerns extend beyond grid availability to include affordability, environmental sustainability, and efficiency.”

The investment is aligned with one of Sanari’s five investment themes: “There is no planet B” which focuses on green solutions, environmentally friendly alternatives across industries and sustainable production and consumption practices.

“Having seen Energenic and Generator Logic (our principal brand) through several transformations over the past 25 years, I am pleased to welcome Sanari Capital as partners to our current owner-manager shareholder base. I am proud of our passionate team of dedicated staff and management, from those who bend and weld steel each day to our engineers on remote sites in all corners of Africa,” commented James van Wyk, Founder and CEO of Energenic.

“We have been on a journey to find an investor that understands our vision and is willing to help us strategically grow and move forward in this changing time. As a team we are excited to partner with Sanari Capital, a private equity firm with a track record of growing companies in the emerging technologically driven world,” he added.