The Green Energy Africa Summit (GEAS) has announced the launch of the 2023 Energy Investment Village (EIV), a deal-pitching event for African clean-tech starts-ups and energy projects.

The EIV is now open for entries from emerging African energy businesses and will culminate in a Lion’s Den-type pitching event during the GEAS to be held in Cape Town on October 11.

The EIV is a partnership between Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus and the Research Institution for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS), supported by Anza Capital and Afida.

This is the second year of the EIV. Last year's event saw finalists representing local clean-tech projects pitching to energy leaders holding potential investments worth more than $100-billion, EIV says.

The 2022 event was won by Brayfoil Technologies, a South African wind energy company whose adaptive turbine designs are said to enable more efficient applications in the wind energy, aerospace, sailing and automotive sectors. Following the win, the Brayfoil team hosted several meetings with potential investors on the sidelines of the GEAS.

“We are proud to have been able to put some of Africa’s best emerging clean-tech firms in touch with serious funders looking to invest in the sector. We look forward to amplifying that commitment with this year’s event and helping to develop black-owned business in the booming green-energy industry,” says GEAS energy VP Paul Sinclair.

He calls on all African clean-tech startups and energy projects to enter this year’s EIV. The initiative is open to startups in the early stages of rolling out clean-tech projects, as well as large-scale energy projects of between 20 MW and 100 MW, requiring finance to get off the ground.

“If you’re [striving] for a cleaner, sustainable future for South Africa and Africa, we want to hear from you,” says Sinclair.

EIV is also calling for organisations that are interested in becoming strategic partners to support its commitment to giving Africa’s clean-tech startups and energy projects access to global investors.

Freeport Saldanha CEO Kaashifah Beukes explains that the conceptualisation of the EIV was driven by the need to connect and capacitate clean-tech startups and energy projects.

“The work that is being done in clean energy innovation and development in South Africa and Africa is hugely exciting. But the challenge is that investors who have an appetite for investing into these kinds of projects, often do not have sight of them. The EIV seeks to become a conduit between investment and solution.”

To register interest in the EIV, visit https://apo-opa.info/40Ur6LS or email Belinda.Williams@Hyve.group.