ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (ARMHIF) has announced a significant investment of $18.75 million in Elektron Power Infracom (EPI), a decentralized energy platform company based in Mauritius. EPI is committed to delivering hybrid energy solutions across West Africa, with a focus on its existing assets in Nigeria.
Mauritian EPI is an entity affiliated with Elektron Energy Development Strategies Limited (Elektron), which was established in 2011 and is headquartered in Lagos. Elektron initially began as an energy trading enterprise before evolving into an energy infrastructure platform company. Their commitment lies in the development and operation of key energy infrastructure projects across West Africa, with a significant focus on their primary market, Nigeria.
EPI was incorporated in Mauritius in July 2021, with its office located at the Ebene Tower in the cybercity of Ebene. ANEX Management Services Ltd serves as the registered agent for EPI in Mauritius. Notably, all the directors of EPI are based in Nigeria, including Tola Tolabi, who holds the position of CEO at Elektron, a role he has held since 2011. He emphasized the socio-economic and environmental benefits of EPI’s power projects, stating, “The power projects we seek to develop under the EPI structure will exhibit significant socio-economic and green benefits. These projects should lead the transition towards more flexible and decarbonized energy solutions in Nigeria. For example, the ability to replace up to 30 MW of diesel self-generation in Victoria Island, Lagos, with natural gas generation translates to the eradication of well over five hundred diesel generators, or the equivalent of 9 million kilograms of CO2 equivalent per month. We see these types of generation projects as key to unlocking Nigeria’s development potential.”
Deen Solebo, who serves as the Principal and CFO at Elektron Energy, and also acts as a director of EPI states, “We are thrilled to be working with ARMHIF on this momentous project. Working together, we believe we can replicate this power development model locally and opportunistically across West Africa, hence accelerating the region’s socioeconomic development by providing energy infrastructure key to sustainable growth.”
Gbadegesin Tariye Isoun, one of the directors of EPI, is an investment professional with a track record of leading investments in large-scale energy, infrastructure, and industrial projects. She serves as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ARM Harith Infrastructure Fund Managers (ARMHIF). She expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “We are absolutely delighted to have completed the investment in EPI as we consider the role of privately delivered power as central to solving the energy constraints in the Nigerian power sector and potentially in Africa as a whole. The EPI investment is a significant step towards achieving ARM-Harith’s goal of investing in sustainable infrastructure projects that support economic growth and development in Nigeria, and we are excited to be a part of this important investment.”
Other directors of the Mauritian entity include Jide Onakoya, who serves as the COO of Elektron, and Oshikanlu Olatolujobalo Tolutope.
ARM-Harith’s role in the project includes providing late-stage project development advisory and structuring support to deliver a precedent-setting bankability framework for power projects under Nigeria’s decentralized embedded energy framework. ARM-Harith’s investment was made via equity, shareholder loans, and loan notes.
ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund is a leading infrastructure private equity fund that invests in sustainable infrastructure projects supporting economic growth and development in Africa. The Fund is committed to investing in projects with a positive impact on local communities and the economies in which it operates.