Friday, 26 August

Dear <<First Name>>

For many of us, myself included, it can be so easy to take for granted the “everyday items” that make our lives easier and more comfortable. How often do we marvel at the ingenuity and convenience of a running tap, for example, or feel gratitude when we jump in our cars to head off to the shops? We should not forget that for hundreds of millions of people, these everyday items remain out of reach luxuries. 

As an impact and climate fund manager, Camco is privileged to partner with some of the most innovative and socially responsible entrepreneurs working to address these inequalities and bring about a better, brighter future for all.

Hearing stories like that of Solange Mukeshimana from Rwanda, who recently hired an electric pressure cooker from REPP investee ARC Power, fills me with joy.

“The electric pressure cooker is not only a fast way to prepare a good meal,” says Solange. "But clean cooking is also one of the ways to empower women to spend less time on home chores and become more productive in our daily activities, meaning we have more time to participate in the development of our families.”

Solange’s story is a powerful reminder of how something so commonplace by Western standards as a pressure cooker can have a transformative impact on some people’s lives and of the importance of the work we are doing with our partners.

Cheers 

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy

West Africa

Burkina Faso: Country sets up new electricity connections (ESI Africa)
- Over 30,000 new connections have been made in the country thanks to an African Development Fund USD52 million project. 

Ghana: Kaleo solar PV plant goes into operation (Afrik 21)
- The Volta River Authority is officially commissioning the 13MWp power plant, which was financed with a loan from KfW. 

East Africa

Ethiopia: Precise Consult to manufacture 250,000 solar home systems locally (Afrik 21)
- The initiative by the Addis Ababa-based consulting firm will also allow the distribution of kits for the productive use of solar energy, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Kenya: Devki Group to develop wind energy plant (Cement)
- The cement, steel and power group has disclosed its plans to develop a 60MW plant in Samburu to try and mitigate high electricity costs.

Zambia: Zambia Electricity Supply Corp launches solar tender (PV Magazine)
- The national utility is seeking bids for the development and construction of 50MW of PV plants in the Southern, Western and Luapula provinces of the country. 

Southern Africa

Botswana: Construction begins on country’s first grid-connected solar projects (ESI Africa)
- Impact investor responsAbility has provided long-term financing for the projects, with a total expected capacity of 4MW.

South Africa: Tiger Brands to instal solar at their manufacturing sites (CleanTechnica)
- The South African consumer goods giant will initially install 2MW of power across four sites, as part of their target to install renewable energy solutions at 35 sites across the country by 2030. 

South Africa: Magnora gets green light for solar project (Afrik 21)
- The Norweigan company has obtained the environmental permit for a solar project, which aims to build 260MW of generating capacity with a battery storage system. 

Africa - other

Carbon credits: New mechanism will issue carbon credits via blockchain (Afrik 21)
- Several development finance platforms and institutions are joining forces to launch the Carbon Opportunities Fund, which aims to issue carbon credits in the form of cryptographic tokens.

Clean energy: Africa looks to UN talks for clean energy and financial growth (Independent)
- Top climate officials and experts have said that access to more and cleaner energy, while continuing to grow economically, will be a top priority for African nations at the upcoming COP27 conference.

Renewables: Could renewables help with African energy access? (Oil Price)
- Op-ed exploring the continent’s renewable energy market and the need for direct energy investments to establish a strong African renewable energy sector to achieve net zero. 

Pacific

Funding: China provides funding under China-Pacific Islands Forum Cooperation Fund (Pina)
- The Government of the People’s Republic of China has contributed over USD1 million to the region, which will be used to drive awareness and support implementation of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

New Zealand: Country’s foreign minister launches new climate finance strategy (RNZ)
- Nanaia Mahuta has announced a new strategy which outlines how decisions will be made to spend the USD1.3 billion that the country pledged for climate finance ahead of COP26.

Rest of the world

Hydrogen: New research warns of the dangers of hydrogen fuel use (ESI Africa)
- Op-ed exploring recent research commissioned by the UK government to re-examine hydrogen’s greenhouse gas effects.

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