JOHANNESBURG — A new financing platform aims to raise up to $125 million for companies selling solar systems, electric vehicles and income-generating equipment across sub-Saharan Africa, by lending against the payments their customers already owe them.
The RAMP Warehouse Facility was set up by African Frontier Capital with backing from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Norfund and the Soros Economic Development Fund, Channel Africa reported on Saturday. The AfDB’s support comes through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Clean Technology Fund.
How it works
Many off-grid energy firms sell on pay-as-you-go terms: a household pays small instalments for a solar kit over months or years. That model ties up the seller’s cash in equipment already in the field. The RAMP facility will finance eligible customer receivables and other asset-backed cash flows, releasing that capital so operators can expand.
Investors will fund the facility in US dollars, but operators will receive local-currency financing against locally earned revenue, with foreign-exchange risk managed inside the structure. Currency mismatch has long been one of the biggest obstacles for African businesses borrowing from international lenders.
The structure combines a Luxembourg securitisation vehicle with a Mauritius protected cell company, creating ring-fenced portfolios for each participating business. African Frontier Capital chief executive Eric De Moudt said the approach lets several companies reach institutional capital through one platform instead of building separate structures. “We have developed a scalable securitisation platform that fundamentally changes how institutional capital can reach African businesses,” he said.
First deal expected within weeks
The platform is reviewing eligible investments across the continent, and the first transaction is expected to close within weeks. Standard Bank Group is providing cross-border financial services and security-agent capabilities. African Frontier Capital says it has already bought more than $500 million of distributed renewable-energy assets and completed a $50 million guaranteed green-bond private placement in June.
IFC regional industry director for Africa Aliou Maiga said the facility could help companies expand solar and productive equipment for households and businesses. “Expanding access to electricity is essential to creating jobs and unlocking economic opportunity across Africa,” he said.
Part of the Mission 300 push
The facility supports Mission 300, the AfDB and World Bank initiative to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030. AfDB renewable energy director Daniel Schroth said the platform could transform off-grid solar financing, and the bank said securitisation could become an important tool for distributed energy, e-mobility and other essential services.
What it means for African readers
For small and mid-sized energy companies, the key detail is local-currency funding. Firms that earn in naira, shillings or cedis but borrow in dollars can be wiped out by a devaluation; this structure aims to shift that risk to investors who can manage it.
For fintech builders, the deal is a reminder that pay-as-you-go payment data is now an asset class. Companies with clean, auditable repayment records from mobile-money collections are the ones best placed to tap facilities like this. For households, the hope is cheaper and more widely available solar kits, although the facility’s terms and pricing have not been disclosed.
