Distributed Power Africa (DPA) and Mettle Solar have finalised a US$1.2 million investment to install a 1MW solar plant for Liquid Telecom’s East Africa Data Centre (EADC) in Nairobi Kenya.
A brief background on the players in the deal
Distributed Power Africa (DPA)
We have covered DPA here on a few occasions. The company has been very active on the continent when it comes to solar power. DPA’s has been behind solar power plants in South Africa, Ivory Coast, DRC and Zimbabwe. They have also been in partnership with local companies, for example, solar loan facility they ventured into with BancABC.
Mettle Solar
Mettle Solar is a Gridworks investee company that is financed by CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution. If the name CDC Group sounds familiar, that’s because a couple of days ago the group announced that it was expanding its investment into Liquid Telecom.
Similar to DPA, Mettle Solar is another player in solar installations in Africa. The company’s business focuses on installation, financing and maintaining commercial and industrial solar systems. They offer solar solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa.
DPA, Mettle Solar and the EADC solar plant
EADC is the largest data centre in East Africa and is part of Liquid Telecom’s Africa Data Centres. The 1 MW solar installation will allow EADC to significantly reduce it’s overall energy costs. The installation will also allow reduce EADC’s carbon footprint. Speaking about the investment DPA Africa CEO, Norman Moyo said the following:
“We are excited to have a DFI-backed company like Mettle, as a co-investor alongside DPA. With sub-Sahara Africa experiencing major power cuts, businesses in Africa are increasingly interested in affordable and reliable energy. We also believe energy to be a fundamental pillar in supporting Africa’s economic development, and this unique partnership is an important building block towards realising our vision of a digitally
connected future that leaves no African behind.”
Mettle Solar CEO Francios Van Themaat said that they are happy and excited to be working with the DPA team. He went on to say that Mettle Solar is looking forward to building a relationship with DPA and to keep playing their part to assist businesses across the region with their energy needs.
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