ADB Provides Seed Capital Assistance to Two Clean Energy-Focused Private Equity Fund Managers

MANILA, PHILIPPINES.  The Asian Development Bank (ADB), through the Seed Capital Assistance Facility (SCAF), is providing a technical assistance (TA) grant to two private equity fund managers who are investing in the clean energy and climate change sectors in ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs).

The grant involves support of up to $1 million each, or up to $2 million in total for the two fund managers, namely:  Aloe Private Equity SAS and  Berkeley Partners LLP. Benefits will eventually extend to  the funds  under management by these recipients  through  cost-sharing in the funds’  deal origination and early stage transaction activities, and improvement of the expected returns from  cleanenergy and climate change investments. ADB’s support is expected to stimulate investment from other sources and  ultimately  help  leverage around  $350 million of private sector funds into various clean energy and climate change sector projects which are in early stages of development in the DMCs.

“While many private sector investors have already recognized the potential opportunities in the clean energy and climate change sectors in DMCs, these players are still reluctant to engage very early due to inherent risks evident in a developing country setup,” said Robert van Zwieten, Director of the Capital Markets and Financial Sector Division of ADB.  ”But in order to intensify ADB’s thrust in helping the DMCs secure their long-term energy needs while sustaining low-carbon economic development paths, private sector funding should come in to fill the financing gap in the deployment of clean energy projects and technologies in these countries,” added Mr. van Zwieten.

The  SCAF  was  designed  specifically  to enhance the flow of investments to the clean energy  and climate change sectors in DMCs and overcome the  perceived  risks by mainstream or commercial investors.

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