On 29 October 2020, PUTTRU Technologies Limited launched its digital platform aimed at disrupting the traditional ways that energy companies have raised funds in Africa. PUTTRU exist to facilitate and fast-track access to funds for African state-owned and privately held energy companies by cutting through the challenges of bringing investable businesses and serious financiers together.
In line with PUTTRU’s vision for an African energy market able to meet its current and future energy demands, in a manner that ensures sustainable development, the launch event brought together African energy ministers, financiers and other key voices through an international webinar themed “Closing the US$50 Billion Per Annum Investment Gap in Africa’s Energy Sector”.
Speaking at the webinar, Honourable Dona Jean-Claude Houssou, Minister of Energy, Republic of Benin, described in his opening statement the journey faced by Benin’s energy industry to narrow the investment gap in its energy sector. He stated that, as at April 2016, Benin experienced severe power issues with more than 95% of power generation coming from outside the country. The Honourable Minister however noted that the current administration has made significant progress since then by putting in place regulatory frameworks to attract private sector investment into the energy industry, including a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The Minister concluded his statement calling for more to be done to bring universal energy access to the African people.
“Our people need energy.
Our people cannot wait.
Our duty is to make this happen!”
– Honourable Dona Jean-Claude Houssou, Minister of Energy, Republic of Benin
The opening statement from the Minister of Energy of Zambia, Honourable Matthew Nkhuwa, were along the same lines, calling for more private sector investment in the country’s energy sector. According to the statement, although a number of independent power producers (IPPs) are already actively participating in the Zambian power sector, the level of private sector investment is still short of what is needed. It is for this reason that the Zambian government is embarking on a number of initiatives, such as the introduction of a multi-year tariff increment scheme and launching a competitive tendering process for IPPs. In concluding, the government expressed Zambia’s ambition to become an export-led energy industry, noting that “we recognise that there is need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders in order to attain this goal”.
Following the ministerial session was the private sector session which focused on the conditions that state-owned or privately held energy companies in Africa needed to meet in order to attract private sector investment. Speakers included: Amitesh Sinha, Partner Social Investment Managers and Advisors LLC; Timothy Ononiwu, Chief Financial Officer Axxela Limited; and Bunmi Otoki, Head, Loan solutions and Syndication, BMCE Bank International
Zambia’s aim is to become an export-led energy industry. We recognise that there is need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders in order to attain this goal.
Honourable Matthew Nkhuwa, Minister of Energy, Zambia
The speakers unanimously agreed on the importance having a strong environment, social and corporate governance (ESG); a strong business model whose unit economics are geared towards long-term profitability and scalability; mitigation of performance and payment risks; and enabling regulatory frameworks on the side of the government, among others.
Speaking on how the PUTTRU Platform is best positioned to alleviate the investment barriers in the African energy industry, having served as beta testers of PUTTRU Platform, the speakers noted that PUTTRU serves as an exciting one stop boutique that not only bridges the gap between energy companies and investors, but also provides vital advisory information for operations and financial planning that leads to great synergy between all parties involved. Buttressing his point on PUTTRU’s unique contribution to energy project development in Africa, Mr Otoki added that the platform, by being able to bring together key actors, provides the missing factor of development cost for energy companies which makes their transactions and proposals bankable.
The speakers unanimously agreed on the importance having a strong environment, social and corporate governance (ESG); a strong business model whose unit economics are geared towards long-term profitability and scalability; mitigation of performance and payment risks; and enabling regulatory frameworks on the side of the government, among others.
In her closing remarks, Monica Maduekwe, Founder of PUTTRU, thanked the ministers and private sector speakers for sharing their experience with the participants. She noted that a key takeaway from these discussions should be that Africa’s investment challenges are solvable and that PUTTRU is committed to addressing these challenges. She called for more collaboration, cooperation and a coalition of like-minded stakeholders interested in Africa’s future.
