Actis wins 2021 GPCA Environmental Sustainability Award
15 December 2021: Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has been awarded the 2021 GPCA Environmental Sustainability Award for its investment in Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN), Lekela Power.
The inaugural GPCA Deal Awards recognise private capital investments with extraordinary outcomes across Asia, Latin America, Africa, CEE and the Middle East. Actis was selected as the Environmental Sustainability winner by a distinguished panel of institutional investors from development finance institutions, insurance companies and pension funds through a rigorous scoring process and was up against deals submitted from over 20 GPCA member firms.
PETN is the first utility-scale wind energy platform in Senegal and the largest wind farm in West Africa. It will provide 158.7 MW of clean, reliable power to Senegal’s electricity grid once completed – bringing power to over 2 million people and avoiding 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Not only has it transformed the Senegalese power sector by providing a 15% uplift in electricity capacity but it’s also created shared socio-economic benefits for the local communities, focusing on education, skills development and job creation.
Actis has a seven-person strong, in-house, dedicated Sustainability team, led by Shami Nissan, who work across the business to ensure its existing portfolio, investments and exits, all align with its core “values drive value” approach.
Shami Nissan, Head of Sustainability at Actis said: “We believe that by investing responsibly, we create businesses that are more resilient, more innovative, better able to deliver societal and environmental benefits, and ultimately, more valuable. PETN is another example of this and we are extremely proud of Lekela Power and everything they’ve achieved – this is yet further recognition of their position as true sustainability leaders. I’d also like to thank GPCA and its judges for this award, as well as the Sustainability team and everyone at Actis who prioritise our work on impact, ESG and sustainability.”