News Update: Gavi approves $1bn for African vaccine manufacturing, a game-changer for the local industry
Industry and Investment News
Hi all,
it’s again time for our investment and industry news roundup. My highlights from this edition are:
💉 $1bn in funding announced to develop local vaccine manufacturing industry in Africa.
🚌 Both Nigeria and Senegal roll out more than 100 e-buses, taking a further step towards a more sustainable public transport system.
🌱 A special section on expectations and outcomes from COP28 - fair to say, expectations were higher than the outcomes.
Investor news
😍 Good News:
LeapFrog, Temasek, and EIB join forces to deliver $500 million pledge to invest in companies tackling climate change in Africa and Asia
South African asset manager STANLIB launches $1bn energy transition credit fund
The African Development Bank has started creating four green banks in Africa to mobilise up to $1.5 billion by 2030 towards green financing.
Venture capital
EcoVC launches new $2.5 mn fund backing minority African founders in climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility.
Saviu Ventures successfully raised its second fund of $13mn to invest in Francophone Africa
Nasir El-Rufai, long-term Nigerian governor, revealed ambitious plans for $100mn venture capital fund to invest in Nigerian start-ups
Concessional capital
Gavi greenlights $1bn African vaccine manufacturing fund - a game-changer on the continent’s way to to building a local vaccine manufacturing industry
Gates Foundation, UAE commit $200 million for agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
IFAD launches innovative financing mechanism to support small-scale food producers to adapt to climate change in Eastern Africa
OPEC Fund, BOAD seal €50 million loan deal to boost SMEs, green energy in West Africa
Africa Green Infrastructure Fund gets US$175 million of pledges
👎 Challenges:
Africa needs $87 billion annually to implement programs enhancing the continent’s adaptation to climate change, according to a UN official.
Special: COP 28
Expectations and hopes
COP28: Africa’s priorities from climate finance to a brand-new narrative
COP28: African delegates express fear of losing natural environment to climate change (i.e., droughts, floods and cyclones) and demand tangible commitments to reduce carbon
COP28: Bridging the climate finance gap in Africa and beyond - based on the current finance flows, Africa faces a financing gap of $200 to $400 bn dollars per year
COP28: African leaders urge a more global response to Africa’s adaptation financing needs
“Africa remains behind in the adaptation process because it benefits very little from concessional financing and green investments. As a result, African countries are going into heavy debt to finance their green projects, which constitutes a double punishment for the continent that pollutes the least. Africa is not asking for a special favour but a fair and equitable approach to the fight against global warming.” - President Macky Sall of Senegal (Source: AfdB)
Outcomes
COP28: African leaders launch Africa Green Industrialization Initiative to upscale and accelerate green industries across Africa
COP28: World Bank commits $100 million to “Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa” project to boost climate-smart agriculture in Africa
COP28: $100 Million Financing Initiative “Re-Gain” Launched to Boost Food Security In Africa
COP28: “If not now, when?” African voices on the final day of COP28 express both dismay and determination
Industry News
🥑 Agriculture/ Food systems:
Kenya: Amini raises $4 million to further African environmental data availability; plans include launching up to 6 satellites into space
Ghana: DFC invests $24 million in Miro Forestry Developments Ltd. to expand the company’s sustainable forestry and timber processing
Ghana: 3Farmate Robotics receives investment to advance their AI-driven robots and make them accessible to farmers (e.g., for seed planting)
Uganda: Munakyalo Agrofresh is helping farmers avoid post-harvest losses by preventing food spoilage via innovative solar-powered cold storage and preservation stations
🌳 Ecosystems
Kenya: BURN sells Africa’s first cook-stove carbon credit futures (call options) over Kenya’s CYNK Platform
Dubai-based firm, Blue Carbon, is negotiating deals to lease large areas of land in African countries to generate carbon credits (around 10% of Liberia's landmass, 20% of Zimbabwe's, and significant portions in Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania)
💡 Energy and infrastructure
Sierra Leone: British Octopus Energy has partnered with Sherbro Alliance to launch Sierra Leone’s first wind farm
Sierra Leone: $52 mn financing package (by Proparco, BII, FMO and Frontier Energy) announced for 4 new solar photovoltaic farms in Sierra Leone
Angola: Masdar agrees to develop 150MW solar power project
🚕 Mobility and transport systems
Kenya: Rwandan Ampersand is expanding its battery-swapping stations (integrated in TotalEnergies service stations) for e-motorbikes
Nigeria: Nigeria announces roll-out of 100 electric buses, with plans to increase it to 1,000 making it Africa’s largest electric mass transit fleet
Senegal: Dakar’s public transport system is getting a boost with 121 electric buses, aiming to improve air pollution
Kenya: E-Mobility player BasiGo raised $5 million in debt to support their local assembly of electric buses
🏭 Industrialisation
Nigeria: “Ultra” low-carbon footprint solar panel plant to be built in a cooperation of AfGIIB, InfraCorp and Solarge International
Kenya: Kenya secures $4.48 Billion in green manufacturing deals at Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative
🌆 Urban areas
💻 Digital transformation
Kenya: Airbus to launch drone hub for high-altitude satellites in Kenya
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Thanks for reading,
Carolin