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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $20 million investment in Metier Sustainable Capital International Fund II, a private equity fund investing in clean energy generating assets and resource-efficient projects and businesses across Africa. According to a statement released on Tuesday, AfDB said the investment will support clean energy and resource-efficient infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Metier Sustainable Capital Fund II is managed by Metier, a South Africa-based private equity fund, and has FMO, the Dutch development bank, as one of its anchor investors. The fund targets investments that deliver social and environmental benefits as well as financial returns.

“Metier has extensive experience in developing and financing renewable energy projects with strong technical partners and co-developers in Southern Africa,” said Wale Shonibare, AfDB’s Acting Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth. “We are pleased to join other investors in supporting their expansion into new African markets to help unlock the vast renewable potential of the continent.”

Shonibare said the investment will help to alleviate financing constraints in the renewable energy sector. According to AfDB, the funding will contribute to the production of an additional 178.5 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy for commercial and residential use in the region. It will also create opportunities for industrial waste water treatment and waste-to-energy generation.

“We embrace the strong synergies between the mandate of the AFDB and Metier Sustainable Capital Fund II,” said Marc Immerman, Managing Principal at Metier Sustainable Capital. “We look forward to jointly delivering a portfolio of clean energy and resource efficient investments.”

Metier Sustainable Capital Fund II is the successor fund of the Lereko Metier Sustainable Capital Fund (LMSC), which invested mostly in on-grid renewable energy projects in South Africa. As a well-established fund manager, Metier has deployed more than $550 million in African countries, including solar, wind and hydro power projects in Southern and East Africa.