The Facility for Energy Inclusion
Generating Africa's Future
The power sector is fundamental to Africa’s success and is seeing significant change and innovation as it rises to support the continent’s growth, particularly in small-scale distributed energy solutions. FEI was created to provide flexible, sustainable, and efficient financing to support the expansion of this infrastructure.
BROAD PRODUCT
OFFERING
FEI is intended to provide appropriate financing for the wide variety of borrowers and forms of power generation that the Fund invests in. The Fund can provide long- and short-term finance, from traditional project finance to inventory/construction finance and refinancing, either to corporates or SPVs.
FEI is addressing the small-scale distributed power segment, spanning from off-grid solutions such as mini-grids to commercial and industrial systems and grid-tied installations. FEI will not finance assets larger than 25MW.
DISTRIBUTED
ENERGY FOCUS
FEI is technology agnostic, capable of supporting a wide range of solutions as long as assets supported mitigate greenhouse gas emitions.
RENEWABLE
TECHNOLOGIES
Investment Parameters
Africa focused
Lending to companies and SPVs developing projects in Africa
ticket size
Up to US$30 million or the equivalent in local currency
lending rates
Competitive, market-based rates adjusted to transaction structure and risk profile
flexible tenor
Reflecting product flexibility, wide range of tenors from below 1 year to 15 years
Portfolio
The ESG Policy and the fund’s E&S practices are reviewed on an ongoing basis to be aligned with best ESG practices. As of December 2023, the fund has refined sought to augment its existing E&S practices by incorporating further provisions on solar supply chain screening and establishing a framework to consider contextual risk screening procedures.
FEI's Project Preparation Facility
FEI can also disburse returnable grant funding from its Project Preparation Facility. The Facility is intended to fund last-mile processes that are crucial to closing transactions which some counterparties, and to fund extraordinary costs incurred in establishing innovative structures or transactions that FEI is seeking to participate in.
The Facility is funded by the Global Environment Facility.
Fund Manager
FEI is managed by Cygnum Capital Group, a UK FCA-regulated alternative asset manager. The firm specialises in fund management and financial advisory for innovative financial strategies and transactions across Africa and has offices in Nairobi, Lagos and London.
For more information on Cygnum Capital Group please see www.cygnumcapital.com, www.ogefafrica.com, and www.alcbfund.com.
Contact us
To get in touch, please fill out the form below or send us an e-mail at fei-info@cygnumcapital.com.
Grievances
Any person, community or organisation who is adversely impacted by FEI LP can lodge a grievance against the fund, fund manager, an investee company or any other party related to the fund.
Grievances should preferably contain the following information:
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The identity of the complainant(s): name(s), address(es) and other contact information;
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The identity of the individual, project or other party related to the fund against which the complaint is being made;
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A description of the issue; and
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A description of any action taken to date.
The persons who have lodged a grievance will be kept informed about expected response times and progress made in addressing grievances. The identity if the complainant will be kept confidential.
Grievances can be submitted by emailing fei-complaints@cygnumcapital.com. Any complaint submitted by email will be reviewed by the Fund E&S Officer and automatically shared with the Fund Advisory Committee and African Development Bank for 3rd party review.
Grievances can also be sent to the Fund Manager, Advisory Committee or African Development Bank directly by letter to:
E&S Officer
FEI Ongrid LP
Cygnum Capital Asset Management
130-132 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9SA
United Kingdom
Advisory Committee (Complaints)
FEI Ongrid LP
c/o Estera Management (Mauritius) Ltd
11th Floor Medine Mews
La Chaussee Street
Port Louis, Mauritius
Compliance Review & Mediation Unit African Development Bank
BP 1387 Abidjan 01
Cote d'Ivoire
- or via -
FEI-Ongrid LP
c/o Estera Management
11th Floor
Medine Mews
La Chaussée Street
Port Louis, Mauritius
Cygnum Capital Group
London
130 Buckingham Palace Road
SW1W 9SA
London, UK
Kenya
Valley View Office Park
Tower A, Floor 3
City Park Drive
Nairobi, Kenya
Nigeria
6th Floor, Sapetro Towers,
1 Adeola Odeku Street,
Victoria Island
Lagos, Nigeria