/ 2 November 2008

Investing in fighting climate change

South Africa launched its first clean technology fund in Johannesburg with about R400-million to invest.

The Evolution One fund wants to inject capital into projects such as water treatment technologies, waste management and thin-film solar panel development, says Zuko Kubukeli, an executive director with Inspired Evolution Investment, which manages the fund.

Five clean technology projects in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are likely to receive their first cheques before the end of the year, Kubukeli told SciDev.Net.

These investments start at $980 000 and could go as high as $14,7-million, paid over a period of three to five years.

”We would be happy to see a good mix of clean technology investments and clean power generation,” says Andrea Heinzer, investment manager for sub-Saharan Africa at the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (Sifem).

Sifem has invested $7,31-million in the new fund as it ”contributes to the fight against climate change, which is having a major impact on Africa”, says Heinzer.

Jaakko Kangasniemi, managing director of the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund) — which has invested $8-million in the project — says clean technology is a vitally important driver of the region’s economic development.

”We are ready to invest opportunistically in those areas where high environmental benefits and economic returns are likely. What best fulfils these criteria is likely to differ from one place to another and evolve as technologies improve and relative prices change. Waste-to-energy, solar water heating and landfill gas are likely to be among the high-potential sectors in Southern Africa,” Kangasniemi told SciDev.Net.

Kubukeli told SciDev.Net that 13 more projects based in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and South Africa should receive funding early next year. — www.SciDev.Net

Carol Campbell is based in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape