CDC Group, the overseas investment arm of the UK Government, has announced that it will invest $300 million to develop electricity networks in Africa. Nick O’Donohoe, Chief Executive of CDC Group, said that the money would be invested into Gridworks, a company that will develop transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Simon Hodson, head of Gridworks, said that the investment was a “natural evolution” of CDC’s previous energy investments. He said that while some African governments have welcomed private investment into power generation projects, transmission and distribution had traditionally remained in state hands, but that this was beginning to change. He said: “We are at a tipping point, and in 10 years, I think you’ll see private sector flows into transmission projects.”