The Foundation for Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa) is proud to announce an investment of EUR 373K in EWIA Green Investments GmbH  through a mezzanine loan. The investment comes in as part of EWIA’s crowdfunding campaign on FunderNation, which closed at EUR 1.19M. This capital will be used to expand EWIA’s operations in Ghana in off-grid Commercial and Industrial (C&I) solar projects, providing electricity to businesses in various sectors including agriculture, tourism, and construction. This investment will also kick-start EWIA’s expansion into other countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, and Kenya.  

EWIA provides industrial solar solutions to medium-sized companies in Africa,  covering services including planning, financing, construction, monitoring and operation of projects. EWIA employs three business models to provide C&I solar: Solar as a Service (SaaS), infrastructure solar for Telco Towers, and Operating and Maintenance (O&M) service for solar plants. With the SaaS model, EWIA provides its customers with a payment flexibility that lowers their electricity costs, while offering them a more reliable off-grid solar power supply.  

Ghana’s power sector has significantly improved as the government continues to show commitment to promoting renewable energy sources through favorable policies and regulations. However, the electricity market is still known for its unreliable power supply characterized by high electricity tariffs and huge power outages for customers.  Further, approximately 25% of the rural population does not have access to electricity at all.  

Having designed and developed over 15 solar projects and over 300 Telco Towers, EWIA continues to provide hotels, healthcare facilities, agricultural facilities, and residential areas with reliable and sustainable electricity supply. CEI Africa’s funding will support EWIA’s off-grid solar energy projects across the continent and has catalyzed an additional EUR 746K capital in the form of crowdfunding for sustainable solar solutions. 

Ralph, Schneider the CEO of EWIA said “We are delighted to have CEI Africa on board as a financier for our projects. Their capital will enable us to continue our mission of designing, deploying, and operating industrial solar solutions across Africa. Moving forward, our focus remains to strengthen mid-sized companies in Africa by connecting them to solar. We are therefore excited to use this capital to deploy more projects in Ghana and expand to new markets.” 

Steven Evers, a Member of the Executive Board of CEI Africa, said: “Our investment in EWIA,  also the first off-grid C&I transaction under the Crowdlending window of the Foundation, will not only support the growth of economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa and result in tangible impact for small and medium enterprises but will also catalyze private retail investment into the sector through crowdfunding.” 

About EWIA 

EWIA Green Investments GmbH was founded in 2020 in Munich with the objective of providing industrial solar solutions to medium-sized companies in Africa, for their sustainable and green growth. Thus far, EWIA has provided solar solutions to businesses in different sectors including telecommunication, tourism, healthcare, and construction. EWIA has successfully commissioned SaaS projects in Ghana, which include a mix of hotels, hospitals, and other business premises providing electricity to over 200 employees and boosting economic activity in various rural towns in Ghana.  

About CEI Africa 

CEI Africa was established by the German development finance institution KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2021 to improve access to energy for rural and peri-urban households and enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. CEI Africa is managed by Triple Jump B.V.  and implemented together with partners Persistent, and GreenMax Capital Group. It is a one-stop shop for mini-grid developers and other off-grid energy companies, offering a variety of financing instruments. The implementation of the Foundation’s Crowdlending window, which provides debt and investment products in collaboration with European Crowdfunders, is led by Persistent. CEI Africa has allocated EUR 28M to support off-grid energy companies and mini-grid project developers through co-financing with Crowdfunders, including the provision of Technical Assistance. GreenMax implements the Smart Outcomes (SOF) window, offering results-based financing grants, social impact-based financing, and forgivable loans. 

For any inquiries, please contact: 

CEI Africa: thomas@persistent.energy

EWIA: ralph.schneider@ewiainvestments.com