Africa GreenCo (GreenCo), a renewable energy trader and aggregator operating across Southern Africa, has won the Solar Deal of the Year for Africa at the prestigious IJGlobal Awards 2025, recognising its role in the landmark 100MW Chisamba Solar PV Project in Zambia.
The award, presented at a ceremony in London on Thursday night, highlights the project as a breakthrough transaction in renewable energy financing and regional power supply.
The accolade recognises the innovative financing structure and market impact of the Chisamba Solar PV Project — Zambia’s largest grid-connected solar plant and the biggest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa — which demonstrates how commercial capital can fund large-scale clean energy without sovereign guarantees.
The IJGlobal Awards celebrate excellence in global energy and infrastructure finance and are judged by panels of independent industry experts. The Solar Deal of the Year category honours transactions that demonstrate innovation, complexity, financing excellence and transformative market impact.
GreenCo managing director for Zambia, Wezi Gondwe, said the award reflects strong collaboration among project partners.
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“This prestigious award recognises the innovative financing structure and the intensive engagement and collective focus of key stakeholders to close this transaction in record time,” he said.
“By unlocking commercial financing at scale without sovereign guarantees, we have demonstrated a replicable and sustainable model for meeting the power demands of the mining sector and the broader regional economy.”
The 100MW Chisamba Solar PV Project was developed by Kariba North Bank Extension Power Corporation (KNBEPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Zambia’s national utility, ZESCO.
The project reached financial close in May 2025, securing US$71,5 million in commercial debt financing from Stanbic Bank Zambia, supported by a 13-year power purchase agreement with GreenCo.
KNBEPC chief executive officer Boyd Kanchela described the award as a major milestone for the developer and the country’s energy sector.
Winning the Solar Deal of the Year for Africa Award is a remarkable achievement and a tremendous source of pride for KNBEPC,” Kanchela said.
“This transaction has demonstrated that Zambian public developers can attract fully commercial capital for clean energy infrastructure without relying on the public balance sheet.”
Located in Chisamba in central Zambia, the solar plant is now fully operational and helps address the country’s electricity shortages, which have been worsened by reduced hydropower generation.
Under GreenCo’s power supply agreement with First Quantum Minerals (FQM), Zambia’s largest mining investor, the company delivers firm renewable power by blending solar energy from the Chisamba plant with electricity sourced from the Southern African Power Pool.
Although the solar power is contracted to FQM, the arrangement frees up electricity that Zesco would otherwise supply to the mining company, allowing the utility to redirect that power to households, businesses and other domestic users.
Construction of the project was carried out by Power China, the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, whose early mobilisation before financial close helped accelerate the development and ensure the project reached commercial operations on schedule.
GreenCo aggregates and trades renewable electricity across Southern Africa, selling power to utilities, private sector off-takers and regional markets through the Southern African Power Pool.
It has operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
Its shareholders include Impact Fund Denmark and InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group.
