Energy- and infrastructure-focused investment bank Fieldstone has appointed Karèn Breytenbach as senior expert in energy and public-private partnership (PPP) systems.

She has been involved in energy and private investment in public projects over the past quarter century and is renowned for her “ground-breaking” work in South Africa, and even beyond its borders, states Fieldstone in a statement.

Breytenbach’s achievements include initiating and shaping the renewable energy programme in South Africa from 2011 to 2019 as head of the then Department of Energy’s Independent Power Producer Office, and previously engineering the initial PPP programme in South Africa, which covered sectors including water, health, transportation and accommodation.

She also helped launch one of the first micro-finance projects in South Africa.

Fieldstone CEO Jason Harlan says the company has worked with Breytenbach on a number of projects over the past year, making it clear that both parties’ collaboration is now more important than ever.

This is important, he says, as South Africa needs to position itself to achieve a just energy transition, while standing as an attractive destination for much-needed foreign investment.

“The challenge is to move from singular, limited transactional thinking, to formulating broader initiatives of scale – an ethos and focus that Karèn embodies,” says Harlan.

Breytenbach says South Africa, and Africa generally, is at an inflection point. “We must not wait for things to happen, but [must] rather motivate private involvement and investment to augment and support government efforts in the energy transition and other infrastructure challenges.

“Both people and communities affected by these adjustments must be considered and incorporated in the result if the country is to be successful.”

She adds that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s position on distributed generation unlocks new perspectives and opportunities for the economy as private and governmental capital will need to be drawn from outside of South Africa to meet its financing challenges.

“This market opening is in line with developments we have seen in other markets around the world. The vital part is that the transition should unlock opportunities for all participants. We are excited to take part in the effort to secure that result,” says Fieldstone chairperson Andrew Smith-Maxwell.

Breytenbach will feature as a moderator at the upcoming Africa Energy Forum, due to be held in London from November 15 to 17.