Cape Town, November 2021.
EIMS Africa, the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) renewable energy portfolio company, is pleased to announce that Mike Wickins has joined the Company in the role of Chief Commercial Officer.
Mike has nearly 20 years’ experience in infrastructure finance across Sub-Saharan Africa, the last 10 of which have been spent exclusively in the financing and realization of more than (2000) MWp of energy projects in the local and African market and joins the EIMS Africa team at a time of unprecedented opportunities for growth in the African energy sector. Mike has played a leading role in the realization of the South African renewable energy industry and brings a complimentary skill set and experience to the team.
“We are pleased to announce Mike as the latest addition to our EIMS Africa team as it marks another milestone in the roll out of our strategy for EIMS Africa’’ said Sean Friend, the AIIM Chief Investment Officer for SADC and Portfolio Manager of the IDEAS Fund.
The announcement of the REIPPP BW5 preferred bidders, the proliferation of opportunities from private off-takers following the revision of the generation licensing cap from 1MW to 100MW in South Africa, the potential of the green hydrogen market and the global pressure for electricity production to come from renewable energy sources, has resulted in an exponential market growth opportunity across the African continent.
“The opportunity is enormous and to capitalize on it we need the right people with the appropriate complimentary skills and experience. I am excited about the new dimension Mike adds to our team and look forward to working with him closely to realise our plans’’ explained Ryan Hammond, EIMS Africa CEO.
AIIM recently celebrated the achievement of Commercial Operation of the last of six solar PV projects awarded under Round 4 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPP). The Projects, situated in the Northern Cape and North West Provinces, form part of a broader portfolio of renewable assets managed by Energy Infrastructure Management Services (Pty) Ltd ‘’EIMS’’.
EIMS is owned by the IDEAS Fund, an AIIM managed fund, and manages the largest South African owned renewable energy portfolio in the market and is expected to exceed 1GW in capacity under management by the end of the year.
EIMS was established as an integrated renewable energy company to manage Renewable Energy Assets that are majority owned by AIIM managed funds. Vuyo Ntoi, Joint Managing Director of AIIM, explained “This is an excellent achievement in difficult circumstances, was down to the success of a great team of seasoned professionals, proving the worth of this integrated management approach to delivering and managing these assets.”
With nine existing projects under management and further projects in the pipeline, this platform is positioned for growth and is expected to play a leading role in the growth of the African renewable energy sector. Sean Friend, Portfolio Manager of the IDEAS Fund, explained ‘’We are pleased to have in place a core team of experts managing a sizeable portfolio of renewable energy investments. We have great plans to grow the business in terms of number of projects and their geographic location and look forward to working with Ryan and his team to make this a reality.’’
Ryan Hammond, EIMS CEO, commented ‘’I’m extremely proud of the entire team for this achievement, many of whom have been involved with our earlier projects, since 2012. This milestone marks the end of a three year plan that included restructuring the management of existing and new projects, more than doubling the size of our team, while continuing to deliver better than expected results for project shareholders in the midst of the COVID pandemic. With this great foundation in place the EIMS team is looking forward to an exciting few years ahead as we grow the Platform’’.
About African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM)
AIIM, a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments* (OMAI), has been investing in the African infrastructure sector since 1999 with a track record extending across seven African infrastructure funds. AIIM’s team of 40+ investment professionals is based out of five locally staffed offices across the continent in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos and Abidjan providing, direct on-the-ground coverage of our key markets.
AIIM currently manages an aggregate AUM of USD2.6 billion in assets across the power, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, midstream energy and transport sectors with operations in 19 African countries. AIIM’s power portfolio extends across renewable energy and thermal power assets which have a combined generation capacity of over 2,600MW, of which 70% is renewable energy providing clean power to more than 1.1 million households a year.
AIIM is a licensed FSP approved by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in South Africa.
*OMAI is a private alternative investment manager in Africa, with over USD4.6 billion (ZAR65.5 billion) under management in infrastructure, private equity, hybrid equity and impact funds. It is a member of Old Mutual Investment Group, the investment management arm of Old Mutual.
About IDEAS
The IDEAS Fund is one of South Africa’s largest domestic infrastructure equity funds and invests in economic infrastructure (roads and railways), social infrastructure (housing and public private partnerships) and renewable energy infrastructure (solar and wind projects) in the SADC region. While infrastructure investments are vital for economic growth and have tangible social and environmental impacts, the fund targets investments with potential to deliver strong long-term returns and simultaneously seeks to meet both social and environmental objectives.
Founded in 1999, the Infrastructural, Developmental and Environmental Assets Managed Fund (IDEAS Fund) is a linked investment policy-based, pooled portfolio product of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) (OMLACSA), managed by AIIM.