Commercial Energy South Africa (CESA), a subsidiary of SolarAfrica Energy, a South African energy solutions provider, has closed an investment of R635 million (~$39 million) from Vantage Capital, Africa’s mezzanine debt fund manager, alongside co-investor Greenpoint Capital.
The investment includes a mezzanine facility, which was used to exit Inspired Evolution from CESA, making SolarAfrica the 100% owner of CESA.
CESA acts as a holding company for commercial & industry rooftop solar and battery storage solutions projects that have been developed by SolarAfrica. All the projects within CESA are managed by SolarAfrica.
Warren van der Merwe, Managing Partner at Vantage Capital, added, “Vantage has provided senior debt to a number of renewable energy projects through its GreenX senior debt division. We are pleased to showcase in this deal how mezzanine finance can play a part in the rapidly evolving power sector. Congratulations to Charl and his team for driving a super-efficient process, which allowed us to close this deal under very tight timelines.”
Step Advisory served as the deal advisor to SolarAfrica on the transaction, while Werksmans acted as legal counsel for Vantage. Cresco, Ernst and Young, Webber Wentzel, and SLR Consulting were other advisors on the transaction.
Charl Alheit, CIO at SolarAfrica, added, “Vantage Capital and Greenpoint Capital have proven to be very innovative and efficient partners in enabling us to execute the buy-out of this portfolio from Inspired Evolution. Taking full control of the portfolio means we can continue to innovate by bringing more renewable energy solutions, such as electricity wheeling, to customers. This underscores our commitment to making cheaper, greener power more accessible to C&I businesses as part of their green energy journey.”
Headquartered in Pretoria, SolarAfrica provides solar PV, battery storage, energy trading, electricity wheeling, and gas-to-power services tailored for commercial & industry clients. The company in February 2026 secured financial close on R1.5 billion (~$94 million) for the development and construction of the 114 MW SunCentral 2 utility-scale solar project in the Northern Cape.
In 2025, announced solar debt financing came to $16.1 billion, 14% lower compared to $18.8 billion in 2024. Securitization deals totaled $3.4 billion across nine deals, according to Mercom’s recently released Annual and Q4 2025 Solar Funding and M&A report.
