Paris, March 27th, 2025 – RGREEN INVEST and the AFRIGREEN DEBT IMPACT FUND SLP (“Fund”) have signed a technical assistance facility (“TAF”) agreement with the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (“BIO”) for a total commitment of EUR 350,000 dedicated to renewable energy companies in Africa. RGREEN INVEST is advised by ECHOSYS INVEST in implementing and managing the TAF.
The TAF will enable the provision of tailored capacity-building support renewable energy companies in Africa (prospects or portfolio companies of the Fund) to strengthen their activities from a technical, social, environmental, management and governance perspective. In particular, beneficiaries will be provided with advice, training and the implementation of tools to provide a framework for good environmental and social practices – at project and corporate level – and ensure adherence to the IFC Performance Standards and EIB E&S Standards implemented by the Fund.
Nicolas Rochon, Founder & CEO RGREEN INVEST: “This partnership with BIO perfectly reflects our commitment to supporting the sustainable and responsible development of renewable energy in Africa. By helping local companies structure their projects according to the highest environmental and social standards, we enhance the positive impact of green finance and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
“BIO is proud to support the Afrigreen Impact Fund SLP, which invests in small size solar and electricity storage projects, targeting Commercial and Industrial companies (C&I) in Africa. The Fund ‘s strategy is instrumental in the development of this sector in that region and will support the replacement of inefficient and polluting energy sources by more efficient and cheaper on-and off-grid C&I solar installations, impacting favorably the environment through continued reduction of CO2 emissions” says Jan Lemaitre, Investment Officer at BIO.
“BIO is a front runner to promote the compliance to the highest E&S standards. Recognizing that small-scale project developers encounter significant risks, limited liquidity, and various challenges, allocating additional grant resources would enable access to expert input, promoting higher standards and best practices and ultimately enhancing the Fund’s positive impact” adds Mathieu Demoulin, TA coordinator of BIO-invest.
“The support of BIO as a donor is extremely important to unlock the potential of our clients in generating high environmental and social value to the communities they serve, including in terms of adaptation to climate change, biodiversity and gender issues”, says Alexandre Gilles, Managing Partner of ECHOSYS INVEST. He adds, “The launch of the TAF comes at the right moment, as AFRIGREEN has started investing in multiple solar energy projects on the African continent and as we observe a high need from our clients to get operational support.
About RGREEN INVEST (Fund Manager)
RGREEN INVEST is a Paris based independent asset management company, with over fifteen years’ experience in financing the energy transition. As a mission-driven company and B Corp-certified, RGREEN INVEST brings European entrepreneurs in the industry a comprehensive range of financial solutions, in both equity and debt, to support their growth.
With more than 2.6 billion euros in assets under management, and a team of over 50 specialized and experienced professionals, RGREEN INVEST has already supported over 3,000 projects, mainly in Europe, helping to accelerate the energy transition, strengthen national energy sovereignty and independence, and mitigate climate change while fostering adaptation.
About BIO
The Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO) is the Belgian Development Finance Institution (DFI) whose mission is to support a strong private sector in developing and emerging countries, to enable them to gain access to growth and sustainable development within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
BIO is an impact investor, its dedicated staff members are driven by their search for both economic and societal added value in development countries with the goal to achieve decent living conditions for everyone on this planet. That is why BIO invests in entrepreneurs, SME funds, microfinance and other financial institutions, and in renewable energy and other infrastructure projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This allows investees to develop sustainable entrepreneurship, and to create jobs and economic prosperity in their community.
About AFRIGREEN Debt Impact Fund (Fund)
AFRIGREEN is an infrastructure senior debt fund that oAers financing solutions for commercial & industrial (C&I) consumers and public utilities in Africa, enabling their installation of on- and oA grid solar power plants to help reduce their energy bill as well as their dependency on fossil fuel. AFRIGREEN is jointly managed by RGREEN INVEST and ECHOSYS INVEST. AFRIGREEN applies IFC Performance Standards and EIB Environmental & Social Standards. It follows an environmental and social management system under which all projects are audited to assess positive and negative impacts in terms of environmental and social aspects. AFRIGREEN pays specific attention to the risk of forced labour being used in the production of solar photovoltaic panels and their components. It condemns the use of such forced labour for the production of solar photovoltaic panels or their components.
About Echosys Invest (Fund Advisor)
ECHOSYS INVEST, a 50/50 joint venture between RGREEN INVEST and ECHOSYS ADVISORY, was created in 2021 as the fund advisor designed to manage and structure the AFRIGREEN investment strategy and to focus on Africa’s energy transition, and more specifically to bolster solar penetration across the Sub-Saharan region.