This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
Palladium, a global consultancy with over 50 years of experience, is launching a $40m fund to support off-grid solar and agribusiness startups in Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Dubbed the “Palladium Impact Fund I”, the fund aims to provide much-needed capital for agribusiness value chains and off-grid clean energy ventures in the three countries, creating at least 3,500 full-time jobs, of which 60 per cent will be for women.
According to Andrew Tillery, Head of Impact Investments at Palladium, “Fifty-four years of experience has taught Palladium that for an investment to have impact, it has to be sustainable, which means it needs to generate a financial return. For this first fund, we’ve chosen to invest in empowering African women, as women perform the majority of agricultural activities, own a third of all firms and are key to the welfare of their families.”
The fund will make debt and mezzanine investments of between $250,000 and $2 million into small companies, with Palladium managing the fund and anchoring it with a $5 million investment of its own capital.
Palladium has already made two direct impact investments, including in Naasakle, a mother and daughter-owned shea nut harvesting and processing business in Ghana, and PEG Africa, an off-grid solar energy project.
Published on August 23, 2019.
