Camco Clean Energy (Camco) is an investment manager at the forefront of renewable energy development and climate action in emerging markets. Founded in 1989, the company has evolved considerably, shifting its focus from renewable energy and climate change consultancy to becoming market leaders in climate finance.
Camco works with developers, equipment providers, investor groups and other industry stakeholders to realise clean energy and electrification projects around the world, especially Africa. Its experienced and diverse team of climate finance experts provides strategic, policy, commercial and technical expertise to deliver low-carbon energy and sustainable development solutions.
The company manages the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), a UK-government backed US $200m fund that invests in small and distributed renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa, including off-grid. The platform has been operating for more than three years and is proving very popular, with some great deals under way and demonstrable impact in the market.
Sustainable energy Over three decades, Camco has built up considerable on-the-ground experience originating, financing and building low-carbon energy initiatives across developing and established markets, and has provided creative finance solutions to 180 projects worth US $15bn.
Recently, it has completed a number of interesting deals in Africa, including US $3m asset-level debt facility with Cross Boundary Energy Access and PowerGen to support Tanzania’s promising, but under-financed, minigrid sector. Currently, Camco is developing an energy efficiency fund to address energy wastage in sub-Saharan Africa, and in May this year was selected for the International Climate Finance Accelerator (ICFA), a public private partnership under Luxembourg Climate Finance Strategy, to help develop the project.
Combating climate change
Broadly speaking, climate finance is one of the fastest growing, highest impact areas for addressing climate change and a host of other sustainable development goals (SDGs) today. To that end the challenges it faces are enormous. One of the most prominent issues in sub-Saharan Africa right now is financing off-grid developments and realising the enormous potential of distributed renewable energy systems to provide clean energy to hundreds of millions of people.
In Camco’s experience, this is hampered by the fact that many developers in the sector have yet to build up strong balance sheets so they struggle to find regular bank finance. Camco is working to overcome this through its innovative asset-level financing solutions so as to allow these companies to build critical mass and economies of scale.
The company has made significant inroads using climate finance to help realise the enormous potential small to medium-sized renewable energy projects have in catalysing sub-Saharan Africa’s clean energy revolution, enabling change where it’s most needed.
