Spark + Africa Fund

Debt : March 2022

BIO has invested USD 3 M in equity in the Spark + Africa Fund, an impact investment fund aiming to develop and scale an inclusive and sustainable clean cooking industry.

Amount

€ 2,444,790.00

Type of investment

Debt

Development impacts

Private sector consolidation/innovation
Access to basic services & goods
Fight against climate change
Gender

Beneficiary locations

Africa: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda

Investment field

Investment Companies & Funds

Activity

DD.35.110 Production of electricity: biomass; biofuel

Organisation

Spark + Africa Fund

Website

http://www.sparkafricafund.com

Domicile

Luxembourg

More investments in

Spark + Africa Fund

Subsidy $ 350,000.00 (2023)

Spark+ Africa Fund is an impact investment fund aiming to develop and scale an inclusive and sustainable clean cooking industry. The Fund will invest in companies that manufacture and distribute clean and energy-efficient cooking solutions in base-of-the-pyramid markets in sub-Saharan Africa, such as biomass stoves, advanced biomass fuels, ethanol and biogas systems. Spark+ will also invest in distributors and consumer finance providers, such as off-grid solar companies and microfinance institutions that extend their services to clean cooking products.

Spark+ aims to directly address the critical investment gap in the clean cooking sector and achieve a range of societal benefits, including improved respiratory health, greater gender equality, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, industrial and economic development, and poverty reduction

Development impacts

Private sector consolidation/innovation
The fund will invest in local companies with the objective to scale up the industry, working as a catalyst to prove the sectors’ sustainability.

Direct involvement of the Clean Cooking Alliance, an initiative of the UNF whose mandate is to create a viable clean cooking sector
Access to basic services & goods
The Fund will invest in companies that manufacture, distribute, or enable the delivery of clean and energy-efficient cooking solutions in bottom-of-the-pyramid markets.
Fight against climate change
Cleaner, more modern stoves and fuels have a recognized potential to reduce deforestation, mitigate climate change, lower indoor air pollution and reduce deaths from smoke-related illnesses

Reduction in forest degradation, deforestation and climate change in contexts where the use of wood/charcoal fuel in household cooking is predominant.
Gender
Eligible for consumption criteria

Commitment to recruit female representatives at board and IC level

E&S Impact

Spark+ will work with a consultant on upgrading its Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), which will include an update of the E&S standards (including the IFC PS) and a review of the different steps and tools of the investment process. The fund also agreed not to invest in high-risk projects and to consult an E&S specialist in case of medium-high risk.

Current situation

The fund was built around its strong positive impact. Moreover, in order to manage the potential negative E&S risks generated by the activities of its investees, the fund set up an ESMS, describing how the investment process covers E&S risks by using the AfDB E&S standards.

Risk Category: B

Made possible through this investment

Thanks to the direct funding from BIO, the following second-line investments have been made possible.

BURN Manufacturing

Kenya

BURN Manufacturing is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-quality, life-improving cooking solutions for the mass market in sub-Saharan Africa.