Inspired Evolution, a South African clean energy and resource efficiency specialised fund manager, is targeting $250m for a final closing of its Evolution II fund by the end of 2017.

Evolution II achieved its first close in late December 2016, having raised $90m from international investors, comprising one remaining investor commitment conditional on a final approval in early March 2017. 

Wayne Keast, Co-Managing Partner at Inspired Evolution, said that the first closing milestone had been reached within 12 months after formally going to market and that the fund’s investors comprised a mix of strategic international DFIs, specialised fund-of-funds, and a family office.

“Evolution II’s investors in the first close are Quantum Power, an Africa focused power, energy and infrastructure investment platform affiliated to a large global industrial, energy, chemical and shipping group; and a stable of policy-driven international development finance institutions (DFIs) comprising the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF), advised by the European Investment Bank Group; FMO; and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM),” he said. 

“In addition to these four investors, a fifth investor has committed in-principle funding to the first close and is in the final stages of its approval. This is a promising start and well synchronised with the successful exits under our first fund,” he added.

Evolution II is a 10-year closed-ended fund with a mandate for equity and equity-related investments into two principle investment streams: development and project finance infrastructure-type investments in clean and sustainable energy; and growth equity investments in energy and resource efficiency companies, and the value chains that support them.

Evolution II targets sub-Saharan African countries where growth prospects, ease of doing business, policy and regulatory certainty, and political stability and bankability offer compelling investment opportunities.

The fund will contribute to addressing the growing need to replace ageing and inefficient carbon-intensive power plants as well as contribute to building least-cost, low-carbon clean and sustainable energy generation capacity to address the estimated 130 GW suppressed demand across sub-Saharan Africa’s high-growth countries.

Evolution II will also contribute to the need for improved energy and resource efficiency measures across business activities that span key sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. 

These sectors are experiencing growing energy and resource insecurity. 

Within this changing resource landscape, the responsible deployment of capital to companies that are ‘doing more with less’ is a compelling private equity growth story. 

Most business activities are located within the food, energy and water nexus that informs the climate mitigation and adaptation response priority within sub-Saharan Africa, and includes transport, industry processes and supply chain logistics.

Evolution II will look to provide investors with long-term capital growth through investments with significant minority or controlling equity and equity-related stakes. 

Where possible, the Fund will also look to provide inflation-indexed yields to investors from its operational assets for the duration of the investment holding term of the Fund.

“We look forward to supporting the Inspired Evolution team over the next decade and complementing it with our Africa growth platform as it consolidates its market position as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s leading clean and sustainable energy investment advisory businesses,” said Matty Vingerik, CEO of Quantum Power, the fund’s cornerstone investor with operations in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.