British International Investment

Actis Energy Cameroon Holdings (Eneo)

Central AfricaInfrastructure

Actis is a leading investor in growth markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Its three separate investment groups focus on energy and infrastructure; real estate; and general sectors, including consumer, education, financial services, healthcare, industrial, manufacturing, and retail.

Actis was formed in 2004 following a restructuring of CDC designed to bring more equity capital into developing countries and the two organisations have a shared history.

Eneo is Cameroon’s national integrated power utility, supplying electricity to over 1.8 million customer connections across the country. Eneo operates the country’s distribution network, supply business and c. 1GW of generating capacity, governed by concession agreements, which have been extended until 2031.

Based in Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala, the company employs over 3,700 people across the country.

This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

In 2014, CDC committed to investing up to $10.1 million ($7.5 million invested from 2014 to 2016 as equity and shareholder loans) in a HoldCo managed by Actis that acquired a 51% shareholding in Eneo.

Our investment supports the expansion of the country’s power supply and increasing electricity distribution.

Expected impact

Expected impact of investments made between 2012 and 2018. From 2019 onwards, we have published a fuller set of impact information, assessing each investment against six dimensions of impact.

With a GDP per capita of $2,300, Cameroon ranks 186 out of 229 countries in the world and around 40 per cent of the population is below the poverty line. It has a total electrification rate of around 50 per cent, but this falls to less than 10 per cent in rural areas.

Reliable energy helps businesses to develop and grow, creates new and better jobs and improves the lives of millions of people. However, more than half of firms in Cameroon identify the lack of a reliable source of electricity as a major constraint to their business.

Our investment helps Eneo to improve its safety and operational efficiency, including upgrading its network.
It also helps to expand electrification rates across the country to support Cameroon’s future economic growth and drive job creation.

Actis and CDC also provide strategic and technical support to the business as it plans to add over 60,000 new customer connections each year.

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]

  • Key facts

    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    June 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D71
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    Central Africa
    Country

    The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.

    :
    Cameroon
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Infrastructure

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investment type :
    Equity
    Start date :
    June 2014
    Amount :
    $9.1m
    Currency of investment :
    USD
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    Mauritius

Related investments made by BII into this company:

Investment name Commitment Region Sector Start date Status
Investment 01 $1m Central Africa Infrastructure June 2014 Active
Investment 03 $3.53m, $-3.53m Central AfricaCentral Africa Infrastructure June 2016 Active

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