Anzana Secures $20 Million From British International Investment To Expand Renewable Energy Projects Across Africa

Anzana Electric Group, a leading developer and operator of hydropower and grid distribution projects across Africa, has secured a $20 million senior secured portfolio debt facility from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, to accelerate the construction of run-of-river hydropower projects across the continent.

The facility is designed to address the high upfront costs and lengthy timelines typically associated with arranging project-specific financing.

The BII funding will provide construction financing for Anzana’s well-developed hydropower portfolio, which focuses on small- and medium-scale plants with potential solar hybridisation in East, Central and Southern Africa.

Through the facility, Anzana expects to unlock 10MW of newly installed distributed baseload generation capacity by 2030, generating more than 50 GWh of clean electricity annually for national and regional power grids as well as high-demand centres.

The first project under the facility will be located in Zambia.

If successful, Anzana plans to replicate the approach to enable more efficient financing for future projects in its pipeline.

Anzana’s operating model spans project development, power generation, distribution and interconnection, serving both communities and commercial and industrial customers with reliable electricity supply.

The portfolio is expected to create more than 500 jobs during construction and operations, while expanding electricity access and supporting economic activity across the targeted regions.

Chris Chijiutomi, Managing Director and Head of Africa at British International Investment, said:”Africa faces a significant energy access gap, with nearly 600 million people lacking electricity. We’re committed to working with partners like Anzana to support Mission 300 and provide electricity access to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. Through this financing, we’re helping countries transition to renewable power, strengthen electricity networks, and deliver clean, reliable energy to millions of households.”

Brian Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of Anzana Electric Group, said: “This facility is an important milestone for Anzana as we scale our platform across Africa and expand our close partnership with BII. Through an end-to-end model spanning generation and distribution, including customer connections, we ensure consistent reliability and quality across the entire power value chain.

“Our focus on strong governance, disciplined execution and strategic corridor development enables us to deliver power where it is needed most while supporting national government objectives for sustained long-term economic growth.”