Press releases

Leading off-grid solar company SolarNow and investors SunFunder, Oikocredit and responsAbility Investments announce a new syndicated receivables financing facility amounting to USD 6 million. Structured as a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle, the facility will enable SolarNow to deploy solar home systems to a broad section of Uganda’s off-grid population by offeri

Zurich, 11 October 2017 — A responsAbility-managed private equity vehicle has completed the acquisition of a 4.99% shareholding in Utkarsh Small Finance Bank. Focusing on rural and semi-urban areas, the non-listed Varanasi-based company operates in 10 Indian states, with a strong presence in the large states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Zurich and Cairo, 3 October 2017 — A responsAbility-managed private equity company has invested in Fawry, the leading mobile payments platform in Egypt. Over the next few years, mobile payments are expected to generalize in the country and offer attractive growth opportunities for operators in the field. Through the capital increase, Fawry aims to fast-track the expansion of cashless payments and financial inclusion by leveraging their mobile platform and distribution network.

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.