Engie and Fenix announce they have agreed on a transaction in which Engie will acquire 100 percent of Fenix International, a next generation energy company that offers solar home systems (SHS) in Africa. The company was founded in 2009 and currently employs over 350 people, with its main activity conducted in Uganda, where it has more than 140,000 customers. Fenix also recently expanded into Zambia and plans further roll-outs in other countries across Africa.
“We believe that combining the strengths of Engie, a global energy player and Fenix, a successful company with very strong customer focus, high-quality products and an experienced team anchored in the heart of Sub-Saharan Africa, will enable faster deployment of SHS to the large African population still lacking access to electricity” said Bruno Bensasson, CEO of Engie Africa. “Fenix will be the agile growth engine for ENGIE’s SHS business in Africa and enable us to become a leading profitable off-grid energy services company on the continent, reaching millions of customers by 2020. We do believe that universal access is now reachable in a foreseeable future by the combination of national grids extension, local micro-grids and solar home systems, depending on the local characteristics of the energy demand.”
Lyndsay Handler, CEO of Fenix International, added that Fenix and Engie share the belief that universal access to energy is possible and paramount. To date, Fenix has delivered reliable solar power to over 900,000 people in East Africa. By joining forces with Engie, one of the world’s largest independent utility companies with a firm commitment to a decentralised, decarbonised and digital energy revolution, Fenix will greatly accelerate this vision.
The investment will contribute to Engie’s goal of providing 20 million people around the world with access to decarbonised, decentralised energy by 2020, using the latest digital technologies. Fenix’s strength within the home solar market in Africa will play a strategic part in the realisation of this goal, given the number of households that off-grid solar is expected to reach over the coming years. The World Bank has estimated that up to 99 million households, more than a third of those that are off-grid, will rely on home solar by 2020, with the market growing fastest in Africa.
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