Dutch development bank FMO has announced it will invest $137 million (Rs 1,004 crore) in Green Growth Equity Fund, managed by EverSource Capital and anchored by the governments of India and the United Kingdom.
“The Board of the Green Climate Fund has approved FMO’s proposal to accelerate private and public sector investment in India’s green infrastructure projects," FMO and EverSource Capital said in a joint statement on Friday.
Green Climate Fund, having an $8 billion portfolio, is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund.
EverSource Capital is a joint venture of private equity firm Everstone Capital and European solar energy developer Lightsource BP. The PE firm and Lightsource had set up Green Growth Equity Fund in 2018 with a target corpus of $710 million.
The project is FMO’s second collaboration with the Green Climate Fund, following the $100 million that Green Climate Fund invested in Climate Investor One in 2019.
The total investment needed to ensure low-carbon and climate-resilient pathways for India is estimated at $2.5 trillion over 2016-2030, the disclosure said.
Green Growth Equity Fund targets raising equity capital up to $940 million for India’s green infrastructure sectors such as renewable energy, transport, resource efficiency and energy services.
Dhanpal Jhaveri, CEO, EverSource Capital, said: “We are delighted to receive board approval for Green Climate Fund’s investment in Green Growth Equity Fund. This is the largest single-country amount approved by Green Climate Fund ever for a private sector equity fund focused on climate mitigation.’’
Green Growth Equity Fund’s investment portfolio includes renewable energy platform Ayana Renewable Power, Radiance Renewables, GreenCell Mobility, and EverEnviro.
