7 April 2025: Two years after launching their collaboration on solar projects in sub-Saharan Africa, EWIA Green Investments GmbH (EWIA), SunErgy GmbH, and KGAL have decided to convert their partnership into a merger. Under the terms of a new agreement, EWIA will acquire all shares in SunErgy. In turn, SunErgy’s existing shareholders will take stakes in EWIA Green Investments GmbH. The merger aims to establish a leading solar provider for Africa, overseeing projects from planning and financing to implementation.
“Investments in solar and infrastructure drive growth and prosperity in Africa while countering the climate crisis,” said Ralph Schneider, Managing Director of EWIA. “Simultaneously, this market offers unparalleled potential for investors globally.”
“With an average age of 19, Africa is not only the continent with the youngest population but also the one with the greatest growth opportunities,” emphasizes Dr. Alexander Ergenzinger, Investment Manager at SunErgy’s main shareholder KGAL, and Managing Director of SunErgy GmbH.
600 million people on the continent still have to manage completely without electricity supply. In many African countries, high and steadily rising electricity prices, combined with frequent, prolonged power outages, pose a severe challenge to the economy and social stability. These outages must be compensated for with expensive diesel generators (costing approximately €0.50–0.80/kWh) – an unsatisfactory situation both economically and ecologically.
Africa, the solar continent
Due to its proximity to the equator and an annual sunshine duration ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 hours, sub-Saharan Africa boasts enormous potential for solar energy generation.
SunErgy was founded in Norway in 2010 and aims to provide communities in emerging markets with off-grid solar energy through small turnkey solar power plants that are connected directly to customers’ buildings via their own power grid, so-called mini-grids.
Synergy thanks to SunErgy
SunErgy complements EWIA’s business. To date, the company has focused on selling solar systems to commercial and industrial customers under a solar-as-a-service model tailored for medium-sized enterprises. EWIA manages the planning, financing, construction, and operation of these systems, which are designed to largely self-finance through cumulative savings on diesel and grid electricity costs for customers. Geographically, operations have centred on Ghana and Nigeria. Following the acquisition, EWIA now employs 76 people.
Mini Grids for villages in Cameroon
SunErgy’s activities have so far been organized through SunErgy GmbH in Germany and its two subsidiaries in Cameroon, SunErgy Ltd. and 2 Mites Ltd. SunErgy Cameroon is responsible for the construction and operation of solar power plants in Cameroon, as well as for building solar power plants in other African countries. In September 2014, the company signed an agreement with the Republic of Cameroon to supply solar power to 92 villages in the southwest region, encompassing approximately 115,000 families (600,000 people), as well as schools, health centres, and private and public enterprises. Twelve municipalities have now been electrified through the construction of mini-grids.
“The merger of EWIA and SunErgy is a meaningful step toward realising our strategy of becoming one of the leading providers of solar solutions for sub-Saharan Africa,” affirms Ralph Schneider. “In addition to geographical expansion and diversification into the stand-alone solutions market, another crucial factor is that, with shareholders like KGAL, we gain established and experienced investors and investment professionals with proven expertise in the infrastructure sector, which constitutes a substantial enhancement.”
“KGAL has been providing investors with investment strategies in the renewable energy sector for over 20 years,” adds Michael Ebner, Managing Director of Asset and Portfolio Management at KGAL. “We are pleased to entrust SunErgy to EWIA and support the company’s continued growth. The African renewable energy market offers impact investors a wide array of opportunities.”
###
About EWIA Green Investments: EWIA provides small and medium-sized businesses in Africa with access to clean solar energy and serves as a bridge builder to investors in Europe as well as for the transfer of technology know-how. Based in Munich, Germany, with operating entities in Ghana and Nigeria, EWIA offers private and institutional investors access to attractive impact investments in the fight against climate change and for sustainable economic growth in Africa. With EWIA’s flexible full-service financing solution, companies in Africa have the opportunity to obtain solar power, financing, security and service from a single source. In the infrastructure sector, EWIA funds and constructs mobile phone communication masts and traffic monitoring systems and equips them with PV systems. For more information, visit https://www.ewiainvestments.com/.
