Finance

The ACV Fund is projected to reduce approximately 17mn tons of CO2 emissions. (Image source: AfDB)

The Persistent Africa Climate Venture Builder Fund (ACV Fund) has received a US$10mn boost from the African Development Bank in order to propel climate technology entrepreneurship across sub-Saharan Africa

The US$10mn investment has been provided through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and will help ACV Fund address the critical financing needs for early-stage climate technology entrepreneurs. Focusing on high-potential ventures in key sectors (such as solar, electric mobility, agriculture, circular economy, and energy efficiency), the initiative seeks to support African entrepreneurship and will utilise the investment in order to unlock US$70mn in funding for African climate-focused ventures.

“This commitment reflects the African Development Bank's confidence in our climate investing and in-depth Venture Building model in sub-Saharan Africa,” remarked Wairimu Karanja, partner and chief legal officer at Persistent. “The ACV Fund invests financial and human capital in early-stage companies led by outstanding entrepreneurs and gender-aligned teams that can drive meaningful climate impact while achieving commercial scalability.”

SEFA's strategic investment is expected to attract additional private capital while mitigating the risks associated with early-stage climate technology businesses. This blended finance approach addresses the shortage of equity financing that often hinders the growth of climate ventures.

The ACV Fund is projected to deliver transformative impacts, including the addition of 200MW of renewable energy capacity, expanded energy access for 420,000 households and 31,000 businesses, as well as the creation of over 66,000 jobs.

“Africa is at the forefront of both the climate crisis and the climate opportunity,” commented João Duarte Cunha, manager of the bank group’s renewable energy funds division, which oversees SEFA. “We are keen to catalyse more risk and venture capital to support promising African technology start-ups developing commercial solutions to complex climate and development issues. We look forward to our partnership with Persistent as one of the more seasoned early-stage investors in the continent, with a strong track record in energy access and clean energy transition.”

The facility is expected to support around US$1.8bn of trade over the next three years. (Image source: TBD)

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has signed a Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) in order to bolster intra-Africa trade, promote regional integration and contribute to the reduction of the trade finance gap

Agreed on the sidelines of the African Investment Forum in Rabat, Morocco, the US$150mn RPA facility is expected to provide guarantee cover of 50% and up to 75% for transactions in low-income countries (LICs) and transition states.

“TDB Group is delighted to strengthen its strategic partnership with the African Development Bank Group through tailored risk-sharing facilities aimed at scaling up trade finance,” remarked Wegoki Mugeni, TDB group chief operating officer in Nairobi. “This crucial support will help bridge the significant gaps in trade finance access as major international banks continue retreating from the continent.”

The facility is expected to support around US$1.8bn of trade over the next three years.

“We are delighted to work with TDB Group, a strong partner with extensive knowledge and network in Africa, on a shared ambition to support the region’s Trade,” commented AfDB director of the financial sector development department Attout Ahmed. “Supporting Trade in Africa is a key priority at the African Development Bank. Trade finance is an important driver of economic growth and is critical for cross-border trade particularly in emerging markets.”

Geraldine Sande, channel sales leader for Schneider Electric East Africa. (Image source: Schneider Electric East Africa)

Schneider Electric East Africa, a specialist in energy management and automation, has launched an eCommerce platform

Designed to cater to a diverse market, it includes tier 2 channels and represents a step towards modernising its procurement process and reinforces the company’s market presence. This is the assessment of Geraldine Sande, channel sales leader for Schneider Electric East Africa, who commented, “With the eCommerce platform, customers can access the required products locally, conveniently, faster and at their desired location without intermediary intervention.”

The portal lists a range of products and primarily targets end users in the residential space who would often have to travel far to a distributor, and commercial customers.

Sande explained that the platform also targets ‘specifiers’ – the individuals involved in projects and those who create bills of quantities (BOQs) or requests for quotations (RFQs) and need to know the available product options, as well as companies that require reliable supply chains for maintenance and operations.

“We noticed a gap in the market in terms of brand visibility in Kenya,” Sande continued. “Many people would ask if Schneider Electric was present in Kenya because we did not have a website (the website will go live in 2025) or any formal digital footprint. Instead, customers would find our partners on other Schneider Electric subsidiary platforms. The customer would also need to have a list of partners online and thus have insight about which solution is found from which channel partner.

“Given this, we felt there was a need to utilise another vehicle to be in front of the customer whenever someone is searching for a product and ensure the product is easily accessible, aside from going through our existing distribution channels.”

Sande stressed that the new platform is not designed to erode the market share of resellers and distributors but can instead bring potential benefits to their businesses.

“From the distributor's perspective, the platform will benefit them by increasing their sell-out. Distributors often hold a lot of stock, and the e-commerce platform provides them with another avenue to reach customers they were not previously tapping into. This represents an incremental business opportunity for our distributors,” concludes Sande.

Ecobank can exchange its existing SwiftMT & ISO20022 messages with Nium to initiate payments on the real-time platform. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, a leading pan-African financial services group, has partnered with Nium, a global infrastructure for real-time cross-border payments, in order to unlock seamless cross-border payments across African markets

Targeting 35 African markets across the continent as well as 32 million customers, the new initiative is aiming to enable faster, more efficient international payments for business and consumers.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ecobank and introduce Nium’s cutting-edge real-time payment capabilities to Africa,” remarked Anupam Pahuja, general manager and executive vice president for APAC, Middle East and Africa at Nium. “This collaboration represents an important step forward in expanding our global payments network, and we are proud to support Ecobank in delivering faster, more efficient payments for its customers across the region.”

Faster payments for African users

As per the agreement, Ecobank’s existing banking operations will be bolstered by the integration of Nium’s real-time payments infrastructure, empowering the financial services group to enhance its services for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

According to the company, it will connect its existing Swift workflows to Nium, thus gaining access to real-time transfers, updates, clearing, settlement, and payment tracking, without the need for complex API integrations.

This development is expected to reduce waiting times for cross-border payments, enabling businesses to make faster payments to more than 220 markets. This will unlock more opportunities for SMEs to connect with global markets.

Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, surmised, “Partnering with Nium allows us to enhance our service offerings and provide our customers with faster, more efficient cross-border payment solutions. By leveraging our unique API-based payment platform, this collaboration is a significant step towards advancing financial inclusion and connectivity across Africa and enabling businesses to thrive in a global marketplace.”