Helios Investment Partners, the largest Africa-focused private investment firm, has successfully achieved the first close of the Helios CLEAR Fund, a dedicated climate investment fund for Africa. Approximately USD 200 million in anchor investments has been secured from eight leading institutions, positioning the fund to become Africa’s largest climate-dedicated fund.

The Helios CLEAR Fund will begin investing the capital immediately and aims to mobilize an additional USD 200 million—primarily from private investors—to reach its USD 400 million target size. The fund aspires to support and scale African climate champions focusing on five key areas:

• Green energy solutions
• Climate-smart agriculture & food
• Green mobility and logistics
• Recycling and resource efficiency
• Digital and financial climate enablers

Following catalytic backing of the strategy by PIDG company InfraCo Africa and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), through the MOBILIST program, six more leading climate investors have committed to anchor the first close. In addition to SIFEM, the investors include British International Investment, the European Investment Bank, the Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund (advised by Allianz Global Investors), and the Dutch Development Bank FMO.

Jörg Frieden, Chair of SIFEM’s Board and Investment Committee, remarked, “SIFEM sees in Helios investments the possibility to join sustainable production and job creation. Improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in labor-intensive sectors like agriculture represent an attractive combination for impact investors and should generate meaningful results in emerging economies.”

Anthony Mwangi Njoroge, Principal and Co-Head Africa Fund of Funds at responsAbility, acting as SIFEM’s portfolio manager, stated, “This milestone marks a significant achievement for a climate-focused Africa private equity fund, underscoring strong investor confidence in the Fund Manager’s capacity to build a diversified portfolio of companies with substantial climate impact across Africa, while delivering robust financial returns.”