Johannesburg South Africa GMT +2

"If done well, resource-intensive agri-investments can generate new and higher paying jobs, upgrade the skills of the labour force, facilitate technology transfer, open new and better markets, and generate complementary infrastructure.”
Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment that respects Rights, Livelihoods and Resources, World Bank Group, 25 January 2010
“Africa will be the economic lion of the 21st century.”
McKinsey: Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies
“South–South cooperation can contribute to the enhancement of Africa’s capacity to deal with development and economic challenges and emerging threats.”
Economic Development in Africa Report 2010 - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
“Poverty, we are told, is mainly rooted in agriculture, and the productivity of that sector must be increased.”
UNCTAD Economic Development in Africa – 2011
“About half of all trade facilitation reforms in 2009/10 took place in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Doing Business 2011 – International Finance Corporation
In the long term, Africa's best chance for prosperity and stability is not from dependency on foreign aid, but from sustained private investment and enterprise.
Currently, only about 1% of the private capital in the world is invested in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The continent [Africa] is now growing much more rapidly than the OECD nations. It [Africa] may well be on the cusp of a reversal of fortunes.”
McKinsey: The Case for Investing in Africa
Africa’s GDP has been rising steadily, at around 5 percent a year, for the past decade, reaching $1.6 trillion in 2008. In 2009, Africa was one of just two regions (the other was Asia) where GDP rose.
McKinsey
“The truth of the matter is that when you look at risk-adjusted returns on this continent [Africa], they are significantly better than in most parts of the world over the last decade.”
Maria Ramos – Absa Bank Limited Group Chief Executive
“... the idea of using profit-seeking investment to generate social and environmental good is moving from a periphery of activist investors to the core of mainstream financial institutions.”
Mointor Institute 2008

Article Index
IVORA CLEANTECH FUND
WHY CLEANTECH?
7 REASONS WHY WE INVEST IN CLEANTECH
AN IMPACT INVESTMENT
CLEANTECH IN AFRICA?
ASSETS
REGIONAL INVESTMENT
WHY ICF MAKES SENSE

IVORA CLEANTECH FUND

The Ivora Clean Technology Fund (“ICF”) is a diversified investment providing superior returns from projects focused on renewable energy and/or clean technology. ICF invests in cleantech projects predominantly based in Africa, delivering a complete impact investment solution through economic upliftment, job creation and environmental responsibility. Our object is to diversify its risk profile by investing in different technologies used across several geographic regions. We identify opportunities that can be established and operated on commercial terms, providing:

Sustainable superior investment returns
Upliftment to local and regional communities
Job creation and economic reform
Security of income and access to established skills
Environmentally responsible investment

WHY CLEANTECH?

Climate change has moved to the top of the agenda as one of the most important long-term risks (and opportunities) facing investors. This is not only limited to the reduction of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses, but encompasses a far larger spectrum:

Alternative energy (alternative fuels, clean coal, solar, wave, wind and other alternative sources of power)
Energy solutions (building materials, storage and transportation)
Waste (management, removal and waste to energy solutions)
Water (treatment and desalination)

"The people who move quickly in this market can make money. The people who invest in energy alternatives will make more. Alternative energies and combating climate change are the single most important economic initiatives over the next 10 years--really over the next 50 years." - Jeremy Grantham

7 REASONS WHY WE INVEST IN CLEANTECH

Growing political support
Regulation and incentives are creating a vibrant market
Supported by long-term economic trends
A wide range of emerging opportunities
Answering the demands of socially responsible investors
Huge growth exposition and market appetite
Wider sector diversification

AN IMPACT INVESTMENT

ICF delivers Triple Bottom Line performance focussing on the three pillars of Impact Investing:

People - job creation and upliftment of social communities and infrastructure
Planet - sustainable environmental practices focussing on clean energy technology business with tangible and measurable benefits
Profit - before being pursued, all projects must be able to provide a suitable (and in most instances, superior) commercial risk adjusted return on investment

CLEANTECH IN AFRICA?

Population growth - significant growth is expected in emerging markets which can be done on an energy efficient basis
Infrastructure leapfrog - new infrastructure can adapt easily due to the absence of legacy systems
Power equals prosperity - 25% of the world remains without access to electricity - this is changing - fast
Resource potential - some of the best renewable resources exist in the developing world (solar, biomass and geothermal)
Africa has the supply and most likely also creates the demand with expectation of significant population and economic growth

ASSETS

ICF will invest in opportunities across the spectrum of cleantech. Due to the relatively young nature of this field, most projects will be start-up or venture investments with a matched economic output. Some projects under consideration include:

Reforestation and biofuel plantations with associated processing units
Use of biomass for clean coal production providing solutions to waste management and an industrial scale renewable energy source
Treatment of acid mine water drainage on a commercial basis where water-based minerals are extracted and sold off in established markets to improve commercial viability

REGIONAL INVESTMENT

ICF invests in projects within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Initial projects will be based in South Africa and expanded into African markets on an operational and distribution basis.

WHY ICF MAKES SENSE

Impact investment in non-traditional asset class providing diversification of risk
Investment aligned with global objectives and socially responsible benefits
Premium investment returns