Successful Exit: responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding becomes independent 8 years after inception

Nairobi/Zürich, September 2021 — The responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding, a company established by Swiss impact asset manager responsAbility along with partners KfW, Norfund and NDF, has achieved its target to become an independent power producer four years earlier than planned. Founded in 2013, it was established to address one of the key bottlenecks in Sub-Saharan Africa of the massive need for bankable, small-scale renewable energy projects.  

responsAbility committed to this project as one of its many climate finance initiatives, and given its on-the-ground presence in Nairobi, was confident that it could establish a local team who would be able to fulfill the vision of becoming an independent power producer, thus filling the gap of needed project development and implementation in the region. With the dedicated resources provided by responsAbility, the team has had much success, with about 30 projects either completed or in the pipeline, which will contribute to connect nearly 20 million people to clean energy in 10 countries. These projects will prevent nearly 1 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year and have also created over 4,000 jobs in the regions they operate.

Involved in the creation of the responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding since the very beginning, CEO of responsAbility Rochus Mommartz commented, “We are very proud of what we have achieved together with our partners KfW, NDF and Norfund. Building a sustainable company which will continue to provide clean energy to millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa means: real impact where it is needed most. I am delighted to see that the team we have established is now ready to be an independent power producer ahead of schedule. Of course, we maintain close ties as the Renewable Energy Holding’s team remains in touch with our team in Nairobi.”

“responsAbility’s injection of know-how and capital have given us incredible momentum,” said Chris Bale, CEO of the Renewable Energy Holding. “Now we can drive our vision for clean energy in Sub-Saharan Africa independently, with this solid foundation in place.”

responsAbility will continue to support their transition throughout 2021, and the responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding will officially continue operating under the name Serengeti Energy effective October 1st, 2021.     

About responsAbility Investments AG (www.responsability.com) A leading impact asset manager with an 18-year track record, responsAbility manages USD 3.5 bn of assets invested in over 300 ESG-managed high-impact companies across 76 emerging economies. Since the company's inception in 2003, responsAbility-managed funds have invested over USD 10 bn in private debt and private equity with companies in the sectors of sustainable food, financial inclusion and climate finance whose business models directly support the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). responsAbility is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and has local offices in Bangkok, Lima, Mumbai, Nairobi, Oslo, Paris and Tbilisi. Owned by various reputable Swiss and international financial institutions, private investors and its own employees, responsAbility is registered with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA.