Solar dominates Africa’s renewables sector which received USD 34.7bn investment in the last ten years

More than USD34.7bn was invested in Africa’s renewables sector from 2011 until the end of 2021. The continent's most dominant sectors were solar with USD20bn and wind at USD 12bn, according to research by global firm Linklaters.

Andrew Jones, Partner and Head of Africa group at Linklaters said:

“An increased need for powering and electrifying the region means that demand for sustainable energy can only continue to grow. Renewable energy generation is affordable, scalable and relatively easily deliverable, making it perfectly suited to many African countries.”

South Africa the dominant player

South Africa dominated value (USD17.7bn) and transactions (95) as a target nation for investment. At second place, USD6.7bn was invested in Morocco which saw a total of 18 transactions. Meanwhile, Egypt had 28 transactions which equated to USD4bn in investments. 

Global interest led by France

Companies from France, UK, Italy, US and Spain (with 30, 25, 23, 23 and 18 transactions respectively) were the biggest foreign investors into Africa’s renewable energy sector.

Linklaters has had an Africa practice for over 50 years, working on numerous landmark transactions throughout the continent, thanks to its unique coverage model with full service offices in London, Lisbon and Paris and its alliance in South Africa. Over this period, the firm has worked extensively in Africa across a wide range of sectors from energy, natural resources and infrastructure to agribusiness, telecoms and financial services.

Linklaters has been at the centre of many of the renewable energy programmes and projects on the continent including South Africa’s REIPP and the World Bank’s Scaling Solar. Linklaters was recently named Africa-wide Corporate/M&A Law Firm of the Year Award at the Chambers Africa Awards 2021, along with ‘International Law Firm of the Year’ and ‘Capital Markets Law Firm of the Year’ for Africa at the IFLR Sub-Saharan Africa Awards 2020. Additionally, the firm has more Band 1 rankings than any other international law firm operating in Africa (Chambers Global 2021, Africa-wide rankings).

In 2020, the firm was awarded Law Firm of the Year by PFI and took top position in all the global league tables for renewable deals by value (IJ Global, Inframation, Bloomberg Clean Energy).

Source: data provided by IJGlobal.