Engie invests in energy access outfits

French energy group Engie (EPA:ENGI) on Thursday announced three investments, in Latin America, India and Cambodia, that it said will help almost 2 million people get access to energy by 2020.

The French group has invested in Kingo, a company focused on clean energy access in Latin America and Africa. The firm offers solar electricity to people in Guatemala, using the “pay as you go” mode and serving currently more than 170,000 customers. Engie said its investment, made jointly with development banks Proparco and FMO and other local social impact investors, is expected to help Kingo bring electricity to over 1.5 million people by 2020.

Engie has also participated in a new fundraising round by Mera Gao Power (MGP), which offers solar microgrids to rural populations in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. MGP has already electrified nearly 115,000 people and the financing round is aimed at enabling the company to reach more than 700,000 by 2020.

The investments, through the company's social impact investment fund Rassembleurs d'Energies, support Engie's goal of providing 20 million people around the globe with access to sustainable, decentralised energy by 2020, said Paulo Almirante, executive vice president and president of Engie Rassembleurs d’Energies.

Engie Rassembleurs d’Energies has also backed Atec in Cambodia. The company, created by two Australian non-governmental organisations (NGOs), makes biodigesters designed to provide rural populations with clean cooking solutions and biofertilizers while fighting deforestation. The investment, along with other investors, is to allow Atec to serve more than 50,000 people in Cambodia and the surrounding region by 2020.

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