Asafo & Co. has advised the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (“FEI OGEF”), a debt fund managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners (LHGP) on its debt financing for Bboxx, a next generation utility which manufactures, distributes and finances decentralised solar powered systems in developing countries.

The loan facilities are provided to finance the scaling up of Bboxx DRC‘s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bboxx DRC already provides electricity access to more than 70,000 people across Kivu, Ituri and Tshopo provinces with ambition to expand further across the country. The facilities also benefit from political risk coverage provided by MIGA, part of the World Bank Group.

The transaction is a testimony to FEI OGEF’s focus on addressing the limited access to debt financing across Africa, in particular in the off-grid energy access sector, a key contributor to the electrification of Africa.

The Asafo & Co. team advising FEI OGEF was led by Simon Ratledge (Partner), assisted by Nedal Jounaidi (Senior Associate) in the Paris office and Jamal Fofana (Of Counsel) and Malick Cissé (Associate), in Abidjan.

Commenting on the transaction, Simon Ratledge said: “We are delighted to have been involved in this financing which is set to have strong local impact in plugging the energy access deficit in a number of provinces in DRC. The transaction bears witness to ASAFO & Co.’s ability to deliver sophisticated English law financing solutions across the Continent, including in OHADA jurisdictions by leveraging off expertise from both our offshore and onshore teams (in this case, Paris and Abidjan). This financing further demonstrates ASAFO & Co.’s deep commitment to the DRC and the wider region where we are involved in power and renewable projects across the scale from utility scale grid connected projects, through mini-grid to the off-grid space.”