Evolution Africa

Clean Energy & Infrastructure Finance Specialists

ORIGINS

Evolution Africa (Pty) Ltd, is a leading private equity investment and project finance advisory house, focusing on the African Clean Energy and Infrastructure Sectors. The Company’s Founders and management previously managed the African business for Evolution Markets Incorporated, a US-based, global brokerage and advisory firm, operating in the energy and environmental commodities sectors.

They have collectively worked on over 40 clean energy projects across developing countries worldwide, including Africa, covering wind, hydro, biomass, biogas, solar PV, solar CSP, waste to power, geothermal and energy efficiency projects.

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.

Leon C. Megginson

MANAGEMENT

+27 87 151 0754

brett@evolution-africa.com

Brett Jordaan

Director
B.Comm. (UCT), (PPE,Finance), CFA

Brett has 17 years of experience in the strategic consulting and structured finance industries. He completed his Bachelors in Commerce (PPE & Finance) degree at the University of Cape Town in 2001. Thereafter, over the next 10 years Brett worked for various established institutions in London, England, including Lloyds TSB, Barclays Global Investors and TCNC, in a variety of roles within asset management, structured finance and management consulting.

During this period, Brett started studying towards the CFA designation and was awarded the Charter in 2005.

In 2008, Brett moved to Evolution Markets Ltd, to join the Clean Energy Finance desk. In this role, Brett provided project finance advisory services to over 25 clean energy projects within developing countries worldwide, covering wind, hydro, solar PV, biomas, biogas and energy efficiency technologies, across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, China, India and SE Asia.

In 2011, Brett moved to South Africa where he established Evolution Market’s African offices in Cape Town, focusing on corporate finance advisory and private equity asset management. Brett has worked within the African clean energy markets for the past 6 years and has invaluable experience in financing and developing small to large scale renewable energy projects, both within the SA Government’s REIPPP Programme and across Africa.

In January 2015, Brett left Evolution Markets and established Evolution Africa Capital (Pty) Ltd along with Daniel Palm. Brett has a passion for implementing new, disruptive technologies to foster sustainable development and environmental stewardship within Africa.

+27 87 151 0755

dan@evolution-africa.com

Daniel Palm

Director
BBSc. (UCT) MSc (Oxon)

Daniel is a Finance Professional with strong experience in structured finance, deal origination and project financing of renewable projects. Daniel completed his Bachelor of Business Science with honours in Finance and Economics at the University of Cape Town in 2003. Following this he completed his Master of Science in Finance from Oxford University at the Said Business School in 2005/2006.

In 2007 he then went on to work as an analyst at Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) M&A and Special Projects team in its Western Europe division based in Madrid and London. In 2009 he returned to South Africa as a Wealth Manager in ABSA Wealth, part of ABSA Capital, specialising in structured and leveraged finance for High Net Worth and Family Office clients.

In 2011, Daniel was appointed the Project Finance and Structuring Manager for Soitec, which is a leading manufacturer and supplier of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) power plant systems and is focused on developing large scale projects within Africa.

In this role he was responsible for all financial structuring for Soitec’s activities on the Africa continent, including the successful financial close of a 44MW CPV project located at Touwsrivier, South Africa which at the time was the largest CPV plant in the world. Included in the financial close was the placement of a R1bn bond issue, which was the first renewable bond issue on the African continent.

Daniel joined Evolution Markets at the beginning of 2013, to co-head Evolution’s renewable energy desk focusing on solar, wind, hydro, biomass and gas activities. Given his strong experience in the REIPPPP both as a developer and in financial structuring, he is well placed to understand and evaluate the risk and rewards associated with large commercial and industrial solar PV projects. In 2015, Daniel left Evolution Markets and jointly established Evolution Africa Capital (Pty) Ltd.

+27 87 151 0753

chris@evolution-africa.com

Chris Botha

Principal
B.Comm. (Hons) (UJ), CFA

Chris has 6 years of experience in the investment management and corporate finance industries. After graduating from UJ, Chris spent a year at Allan Gray Investment Management in Cape Town, working as a client services consultant. In 2010, Chris joined a niche corporate finance and asset management firm in Johannesburg, Bowden and Company, focusing on corporate finance advisory services to small and medium-sized companies in South Africa.

Three years later Chris joined the corporate finance team at African Alliance, a pan-African investment bank with offices in 12 African countries. Here he gained valuable African deal-making experience in various industries including financial services, logistics, energy, infrastructure and agriculture before joining Evolution in January 2016.

An idea is salvation by imagination.

Frank Lloyd Wright

SERVICES

“Our vision is to become a pre-eminent investor into renewable energy and a catalyst for positive change across Sub-Saharan Africa.”

PROJECT INVESTMENT

Evolution have secured innovative funding for solar PV projects across Africa, enabling many projects to achieve operational phase where previously this was not possible, due to restrictions on pre-construction funding by commercial banks.

We are able to finance projects 100% on-balance-sheet through to Commercial Operations, at which time they are de-risked, allowing Evolution to raise debt funding from international banks. This enables many projects to actually proceed, whereas previously this restriction would prove a huge obstacle.

Evolution are also able to provide capital to fund local equity ownership within projects, alongside our ownership stake, thereby uplifting and empowering our local partners.

We can therefore:

Provide full project funding through to operational phase;

Raise senior debt from international banks;

Finance the equity portions of local shareholders;

Provide a full project management role of the project development and funding; and

Act as a long-term partner and investor in the project.

CORPORATE & PROJECT FINANCE ADVISORY

Evolution’s pedigree stems from financial advisory services to project developers, debt providers and equity investors within the clean energy sector, across developing countries worldwide. The management have collectively worked on over 40 clean energy projects across developing countries worldwide, covering most technologies; wind, hydro, biomass, biogas, solar PV, solar CSP, geothermal and energy efficiency projects.

Prior to 2008, the majority of activity was outside of Africa, as the market was slow and nascent. The first major involvement in the continent was through advisory work to the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) in designing and establishing the Green Africa Power (GAP) initiative. However, from 2009, once the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) started to become a reality, the team applied a dedicated focus on Africa as key sector, and actively started working in the country.

Since then, the firm’s management have advised successful projects in Rounds 1 to 4 of the REIPPPP. Whilst the majority of services were provided within the REIPPPP, outside of the programme the management were also involved in advising a number of solar PV, waste-to-energy, gas power and general infrastructure projects across sub-Saharan Africa. These services were at a project and corporate finance level.

Evolution Africa are currently working a number of mandates in the sector, including refinancing of equity from previous REIPPPP rounds, sale of IPP equity, development of new solar PV projects across Africa as well as financing of solar and wind projects in SSA.

We are unique in that we get our hands dirty and help to project manage the full development process – providing an invaluable resource to our clients in getting projects over the line.

Select transactions concluded to date:

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

Evolution have extensive expertise in developing renewable energy projects across Africa, particularly in Solar PV. We bring international knowledge and experience to bear in the projects that we co-develop with African partners; understanding the key risk metrics and how to manage these in order to get a project to construction and then operational phase.

We have a passion for implementing new, virtuous solutions that solve a variety of problems. For example, solar PV + storage + local ownership = clean base-load power and poverty alleviation.

Evolution have the determination and tenacity to be pioneers and innovate new pathways into Africa.

HEAD OFFICE

5th Floor Mariendahl House
Newlands-on-Main, 11 Main Rd
Newlands, Cape Town

CONTACT DETAILS

+27 87 151 0753

brett@evolution-africa.com

dan@evolution-africa.com

chris@evolution-africa.com