Female-owned investment fund manager Mahlako Financial Services has launched a R1.5-billion investment fund that will invest in businesses and energy projects with growth potential along the entire value chain to close the energy infrastructure gap in South Africa and transform the sector.

“We back our portfolio companies holistically beyond providing working capital. Aside from our expertise, we provide access to a strategic network of resources and future funding partners to bring the best support for the most promising businesses contributing to the energy transition,” says Mahlako co-founder Meta Mhlarhi.

The Mahlako fund confirms the core attention of the group is sustainable investments to support the South African energy recovery.

“For Mahlako, environmental, social and governance factors are imperative drivers of performance. The fund will focus on five of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

Energy growth is causally linked to the well-being and prosperity of a nation, says Mahlako co-founder Makole Mupita.

“The fund's mandate includes not only renewable energy but also gas and energy services sectors, as we endeavour to tackle, disrupt and transform South Africa’s energy sector, change the energy landscape and see black participants, especially women, as key players in the sector,” adds Mupita.

“Mahlako’s collaborative ethos will see us make equity- and quasi-equity-related investments, putting our own capital at risk to co-invest alongside other major sector investors in meeting the country’s demand gap. Besides the team’s sector expertise, we bring with us a history of driving transformation of businesses and thought leadership within the private and public sectors,” Mhlarhi says.

“Growth takes energy. Transforming our world to a more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive one will take not just the energy generated from solar, gas, hydro and geothermal sources, but the energy of individuals who are dedicated to it,” Mupita concludes.