African private equity firm, Inspired Evolution, achieves second close of Evolution III, its third energy transition net-zero climate impact fund

Inspired Evolution, a leading Pan-African climate-centred private equity firm specialising in clean energy infrastructure and energy and resource-efficiency investments, is proud to announce the second close of its Evolution III Fund on 31 May 2024. 

Evolution III welcomes commitments from ten new investors, including Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), which committed up to USD 20 million, and nine investors through Align Impact, a dedicated impact advisory firm comprising a mix of individuals, trusts, and foundations. 

Inspired Evolution has been involved in financing the development and operations of more than 4⁺ GW of renewable energy infrastructure-type generation projects and multiple growth equity investments across Sub-Saharan Africa since 2007. The firm focuses on key climate-driven principal investment themes, namely clean energy infrastructure, energy access, energy and resource efficiency and the value chains that support them.

The Evolution III Fund achieved its first close in March 2023, securing USD 199.4 million in conditional commitments from seven international investors, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), Dutch Development Bank FMO, the African Development Bank, Finnfund, Swedfund, Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), and Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund (EMCAF).

The Mauritius Investment Corporation aims to support the economic development of Mauritius through strategic investments. Geared towards the future in mind, the MIC is a strategic accelerator, investing to ensure the nation’s wealth enhancement. 

Mr Jitendra Bissessur, the MIC's Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are delighted to partner with Inspired Evolution, Africa’s leading private equity investors focused on clean and renewable energy and energy transition. Our investment will help create a significant social, environmental, and economic impact for Africa.”

Align Impact is a female-founded investment advisory firm specialised in co-creating and implementing impact investment strategies with individuals, families, foundations, institutions and advisors. 

Yihana von Ritter, Director of Private Funds, said, “We are honoured to join forces with the experienced Inspired Evolution team in fostering a greener future for Africa. Evolution III represents an attractive opportunity to make a meaningful difference in addressing climate change while targeting strong returns for investors. Scaling renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa is not only a regional imperative but also a global one, essential to prevent locking into decades of fossil fuel infrastructure. The energy access component of the strategy, furthering social justice, is yet another compelling attribute of Inspired Evolution’s approach."

Wayne Keast, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Inspired Evolution, said, "We are particularly excited to welcome ten new investors, including the Mauritius Investment Corporation, to our Evolution III Fund, supporting our mission to drive impactful, sustainable growth across the continent. Our extensive 17-year experience in African clean energy and climate finance investments has been pivotal in achieving significant milestones. With 23 investments and 16 successful exits, the second close of Evolution III demonstrates the robustness of our investment strategy and the confidence our investors have in us." 

Christopher Clarke, also Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Inspired Evolution, added: "The demand for climate-focused, socially responsible investments is at an all-time high. Institutional investors are increasingly looking for managers who not only adhere to global governance standards but also deliver substantial climate and social impacts. Our first investments from Evolution III in Red Rocket Holding (one of Africa’s leading IPPs) and Equator Energy exemplify our commitment to advancing Africa’s energy transition through sustainable energy solutions. The success of our second close underscores our team's deep expertise and unwavering commitment to achieving superior returns while promoting sustainable development goals."

Evolution III is our next-generation energy transition fund, offering sophisticated and active investment strategies for traditional utility-scale, grid-connected IPP platforms and projects, decentralised commercial and industrial (C&I) private offtake opportunities, off-grid solutions, and energy-as-a-service (EaaS) mini and micro-grid infrastructure-type opportunities. Evolution III will also look to invest growth equity into energy and resource-efficiency technology-based businesses that ‘do more with less’ and reduce resource footprints. Evolution III will provide investors with long-term capital growth and yield by taking significant minority and controlling equity and equity-related stakes.