European Enterprise Award 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 European Enterprise Awards 13 , Best Renewable Energy Fund Manager – UK Leader in climate finance, Camco Clean Energy, pairs the conscience of a development bankwith the agility and nimbleness of a small private company.We speak toManaging Director Geoff Sinclair about the firm’s approach and its passion for clean living. Nov20612 Camco Clean Energy (Camco) is a fund manager that specialises in climate finance and meaningful sustainable development impact in emerging markets. Its long-established position within Africa’s renewable energy sector enables the company to provide project developers and sponsors with a trusted combination of global access and local presence, enabling them to source the right financing solutions to develop and build projects. Formed in Nairobi more than 30 years ago, Camco has since provided creative finance solutions to 180 projects worth US$15 billion. The company has offices in Accra, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London and Nairobi. Camco is the investment manager of the £148m UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) and recently became an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund. The firm’s values include standing against inequality and the excessive, regressive gap between rich and poor, which is worsened by global heating and limited access to affordable energy. Managing Director, Geoff Sinclair, enlightens us on the company’s approach. “We know clean energy will power a brighter future for everyone, so we’re getting on with it,” he enthuses. “We offer elegant and practical financing solutions to scale the clean energy transition and bring forward a world that is more abundant, affordable and profitable. In short, we are working to bring about a brighter future, today, that is smarter, healthier and free-er for all.” The power sector has changed, and continues to change, at a staggering speed, Geoff elaborates. Over the last few years, renewable energy has become mainstream, with costs plummeting to the point that in many places it has become one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, energy source. Renewables have also changed the model of the electricity grid in emerging markets, from one where large, centralised generation was the most economic option, to one where distributed generation is quickly becoming the lowest cost solution. This is enabling people to bypass or find a substitute for the grid in a similar way to how the proliferation of mobile phones has bypassed the need for countrywide telephone lines and other costly infrastructure. “Covid-19 has certainly put the brakes on the rate of development that the sector has seen over the last few years, with the impact you would expect on material imports, workforce availability, site visits, due diligence reporting and so on. But the sector has shown remarkable resilience by and large, and most of the projects that we work with have adapted to the situation well and continued to progress.” The team at Camco consists of a diverse range of professionals spread across several offices, with experience in finance and investment, risk management, development, engineering, policy, and sustainability. “If there is one thing that unites us all it is our passion for clean energy and sustainable economic development, and this is something that we certainly look for in any potential new employee, as well as being excellent at what they do, of course!” Geoff elaborates, telling us that the team has a very strong work ethic that is inclusive, supportive, appreciative and respectful of one another, and that all staff members practice a culture of ‘psychological safety’, which means it is encouraged for anyone to speak up with ideas, as well as questions, concerns or mistakes, without fear of reproach. Regarding the future, Camco will continue as the investment manager for REPP. And as an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund, Camco is now able to propose private sector projects and programmes to the Fund based in any developing country that are up to US$250 million in size and are low to medium risk. It will then be able to oversee, supervise, manage and monitor these proposals if approved. Naturally, this is a very exciting opportunity for Camco and it will be investing a lot of time and energy working on proposals in 2021. “As well as REPP and GCF, we are also working on a new venture to decarbonise Africa's commercial and industrial sector through sustainable energy (finance) interventions. But we can’t say more on that for now!” Company: Camco Clean Energy Contact: Geoff Sinclair Website: www.camco.energy