Specialist investment fund Third Way Investment Partners has breached the R3bn mark in invested capital in renewable energy — having ploughed money in projects that unlocked a total of 5GW of solar, wind and hydro power, contributing towards sustainable supply of energy into the SA economy.
Fulufhelo Makwetla, cofounder and CEO of Third Way Investment Partners, said the invested capital was separate from R2bn available for investment in future projects.
“We are excited to report that despite challenges of the past few years and the period under review, we were able to deliver positive returns to our investors and meet our goals of supporting economic development, job creation as well as sustainability,” Makwetla said.
Third Way Investment Partners was founded in 2015 by Makwetla and John Oliphant, both former executives at the Government Employees Pension Fund.
Oliphant, who chairs the investment management company, said the firm was committed to supporting Operation Vulindlela, the National Treasury programme of implementing economic reforms.
He said in the year to October, the company delivered returns of about 10% to investors, considered an attractive return for an infrastructure debt fund.
The entity’s investments are spread across five fund managers. The fund is exposed to 64 renewable energy projects located in six provinces with a total capacity of 5.1GW. The bulk of the projects are mostly in the Northern and Eastern Cape, provinces which are regarded as SA’s renewable energy hubs.
Thirty-two of the projects total 3.3GW, while solar photovoltaic accounts for 25 projects with 1.3GW, and projects in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) account for 450MW.
The company said at their peak, the projects created 21,000 jobs.
Makwetla said one of the firm’s highlights for the year was the successful launch of Fund II, an infrastructure fund focusing on clean energy and social infrastructure and a successor to Fund I, which was launched seven years ago.
“Fund I consistently met and exceeded investor financial and impact return expectations. Consistent outperformance was achieved despite the complex economic environment since the fund’s inception in 2017,” Makwetla said.
Fund II has a targeted investment of R4bn, with Makwetla saying they will look to partner with pension funds to invest in economic and social infrastructure that improves resilience such as affordable housing, energy, and water infrastructure.
Oliphant said the fund played a critical role in job creation, supporting local industries and enhancing service delivery in underserved regions of SA.
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