The U.K. Climate Investments (UKCI) has announced that it will invest 500 million Rand ($36 million) in Revego Africa Energy Limited, an investment vehicle dedicated for renewable energy projects in Africa.

Investec Bank Limited, which is a founding shareholder of Revego Fund Managers and the manager of the investment vehicle, has also made a conditional investment of 500 million Rand ($36 million). Both UKCI and Investec’s commitments will be realized once the investment vehicle has been listed.

The main purpose of the investment vehicle will be to acquire equity in operational renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa. It will also help the developers in the installation of new clean generation capacity and recycle capital in established green energy projects.

The investment vehicle is likely to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the first half of 2019. This will generate an interest from the institutional investors and demonstrate the investment potential of the region’s renewable energy sector.

The targeted initial listing size of the investment vehicle is approximately 2 billion Rand ($145 million).

“More than half of the world’s population currently living without access to electricity is in sub-Saharan Africa. By helping to facilitate the recycling of development capital into new renewable energy projects, this green finance initiative represents an exciting opportunity to accelerate the deployment of clean generation capacity for the region,” said Richard Abel, Managing Director of UKCI.

Harriet Baldwin, the U.K. Minister of State for Africa said, “Africa is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world. The partnership between U.K. Climate Investments and Investec, which will unlock capital in established green energy projects, is a great example of the UK private sector working to attract green finance investors to help realize the potential of African economies, while tackling climate change.”

Last year, Lightsource BP completed 60 MW solar project in Wagdari, located in the state of Maharashtra. The project was financed in partnership with UKCI.

In December 2018, the United Kingdom committed an additional funding of £100 million for the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) which aims to give a major boost to Sub-Saharan Africa’s small to medium-scale renewable energy sector.