Press releases

Zurich, 25 September 2017 — Two energy funds managed by responsAbility and Mobisol, a leading player in decentralized solar electrification, have signed an off-balance-sheet debt deal. This cooperation will fuel the continued growth of Mobisol in Tanzania and provide financing for electrifying more than 15,000 households and small businesses. The deal is one of the largest special purpose vehicle debt transaction structures in the off-grid solar sector.

Zurich, 04 September 2017 — Two responsAbility-managed investment vehicles have jointly taken a 9% stake in Center-Invest, a leading local bank headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, in the southern Russian Federation. The bank provides universal banking services to small to medium-sized companies as well as retail clients.

Zurich, 16 August 2017 — Two new Nordic equity investments will support African countries to increase their clean energy production. The Nordic Development Fund and Norfund have approved a total of USD 19 million of equity investments in a responsAbility-managed Energy Holding focusing on Sub-Saharan African countries. Other investors in the company are Germany’s KfW and Switzerland’s responsAbility Investments AG.

Zurich, 15 August 2017 — The responsAbility-managed energy fund that focuses on climate financing in developing countries is further expanding its portfolio. A newly constructed solar photovoltaic farm in Rosh Pinah, Namibia, has just gone operational. By feeding 13.5 GWh of electricity into the national grid on an annual basis, the plant will help to enhance energy security and reduce Namibia’s dependence on electricity imports.

Zurich, 20 July 2017 — A climate fund managed by responsAbility Investments AG has entered into collaboration with the Energy, Climate and Technology branch of the UN Environment. The partners will collaborate on developing country baselines for specific technologies to establish benchmarks for both sustainable energy policies and energy efficiency financing. The strategic partnership will allow responsAbility to obtain first-hand information on the development of sustainable energy policies that boost the demand for green products financed through the climate fund’s partner institutions.

Zurich, 17 July 2017 — The responsAbility-managed energy fund focused on climate investments in developing countries more than doubled its climate impact in 2016. Alongside monetary benefits, the energy projects financed until the end of 2016 help to reduce CO2 emissions by 8.6 million tonnes over the lifecycle of the installed plants and equipment, double the amount recorded in 2015. At the same time, the funded projects generated more than three times as much renewable energy as in 2015.

Zurich, 30 June 2017 — responsAbility, the asset manager specialising in development investments, elected three new members to the Board of Directors at its annual general meeting on 29 June. The new independent members strengthen the board with their expertise in the areas of emerging markets and private equity, and with their strategy and management experience in the financial industry and politics.

Zurich, 22 June 2017 — A responsAbility-managed company designed to finance, build, own and operate renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa has started construction on a 2.7 MW hydropower plant in the Republic of Rwanda. The run-of-the-river plant is located on the Mukungwa River, in the Northern Province close to the city of Musanze. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2018.

Zurich, 20 June 2017 — A responsAbility-managed private equity vehicle has completed a USD 6 million investment in the Brazilian factoring company Dunasplus and now holds a significant minority stake in the company. Dunasplus focuses on supplying short-term working capital to SMEs, thus closing a gap in Brazil’s financial market.

Zurich - AmeriaBank, Armenia’s leading corporate and SME bank, has signed a USD 30 million loan agreement with a responsAbility-managed fund focusing on climate financing. The facility is dedicated to financing corporate energy efficiency measures in sectors such as agriculture and industry in Armenia.