October 25, 2017: Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) is honored to have been recognized at the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) Institute’s second annual Sustainability and Operational Excellence Challenge for its management of the Eranove Group, a leading African utility platform expanding access to energy and drinking water on the continent. A panel of experts selected the Eranove Group as one of three Challenge finalists based on its contribution to inclusive emerging market development and on ECP’s ability to create value and to promote sustainable operations.
At the time of ECP’s investment in Eranove, Africa had significant power and water challenges and infrastructure gaps. ECP recognized the opportunity to help Eranove – which already had diverse and profitable assets – grow organically, operate more efficiently, and expand internationally.
ECP worked with Eranove to increase operational efficiencies and to maintain and upgrade existing subsidiaries’ networks. As a result, Eranove saw a 24% rise in clean water production from 2009 through the end of 2015 and grew its electricity and water customers by 50% between 2009 and 2016, reaching over 3.3 million combined consumers in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. ECP also helped Eranove to develop a strong pipeline of environmentally sustainable projects and worked with international and local investors to facilitate Eranove’s expansion. For example, the combined gas and steam cycle facility CIPREL IV, inaugurated in 2016, contributed to a 70% increase in CIPREL’s total power capacity while emitting 500,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide annually as compared to an equivalent gas-fired turbine.
A key element of ECP’s value creation plan was working with Eranove to build the caliber of its staff by facilitating professional development opportunities and internal promotions. In 2016 alone, Eranove spent nearly US$1.6 (€1.5) million to train 8,636 employees on technical and operational skills.
ECP’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Hurley Doddy commented that “We know the bar was set high for this year’s EMPEA Sustainability and Operational Excellence Challenge award, so I was delighted to present the impact of ECP’s investment on Eranove’s expansion at the Sustainable Investing in Emerging Markets summit in London. Eranove’s commercial growth and social impact is a strong example of how our approach to investing can drive value and it’s encouraging to see this approach gaining momentum throughout the industry.”
Visit here to access the full case study by EMPEA.
