Infinity

POWERING WITH NATURE

Following a milestone acquisition, Infinity Power is now the largest renewable energy company on the continent.

Mohamed Ismail Mansour, co-Founder and CEO of Infinity and Chairman of Infinity Power, details the transaction and the rise of renewables in Egypt and beyond

Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Jordan Levey

Egypt has untapped potential to significantly scale up renewables and decarbonise its energy system.

As the Egyptian government works towards decarbonising the country’s energy sector, Infinity sees a wealth of opportunities to develop clean and sustainable energy projects.

Infinity initially started as a result

of the electricity cuts during the Egyptian revolution. For over a decade, it has been leading the shift to a sustainable future for Egypt and Africa, through meticulously developed energy solutions that provide efficient and sustainable access to energy resources for all.

The company has uniquely positioned itself as the only dedicated

Mohamed Ismail Mansour

renewable energy solutions provider in Egypt across several sectors and three scales – cities and infrastructure, commercial and industrial, and agricultural.

“We have been one of the driving forces behind a cleaner, greener future for Egypt, enabling the country and the continent to move forward in its sustainability journey,” says

“Infinity is transforming the renewable energy industry in Egypt and across Africa by developing and providing sustainable solutions that facilitate long-term clean power.”

Various renewable resources for power generation – solar, wind, Green

Hydrogen, water desalination and waste-to-energy – are harnessed by Infinity to power societies and communities in ways that better support and sustain the environment.

Egypt’s first and largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network has also been developed by Infinity, through which it is encouraging the transition to electric mobility.

Mohamed Ismail Mansour, co-Founder and CEO of Infinity and Chairman of Infinity Power.

Khodeir & Partners – Advocates and Legal Consultants

We speak with Khodeir & Partners to find out more about client-centric work, ongoing partnership with Infinity, and plans for future development.

Africa Outlook (AO): What led to the inception of Khodeir & Partners and what is its vision?

Khodeir & Partners (KP): The idea behind the Khodeir & Partners (KP) law firm started in 2019. With only two fee earners, KP’s vision was crystal clear - to provide KP clients with high-quality legal services and offer KP internal teams quality legal training, giving them exposure and allowing them growth opportunities. From there, things grew organically, KP clients started receiving high-quality legal services. In a very short time, KP’s client list started to grow locally and internationally. Today, KP has 42 fee earners in Cairo and 30 fee earners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

AO: In your opinion, what are the defining qualities that make KP Egypt’s top rising law firm?

KP: We employ our resources to understand the factual and technical details of every matter in which we get involved and we take every legal avenue that is available for securing best results. Mindful of our clients’ needs for getting the best services at an affordable cost, we made a choice to be a unique practice focusing on providing our clients with top legal quality work at reasonable prices. Our drive is for delivering the best possible results and growing our client’s satisfaction more than it is about growing the number of our mandates. This also allows us to control our costs and be able to provide reasonable fee structures besides quality legal work.

AO: How does the company differentiate from the competition?

KP: “Classical approach with modern delivery” is our motto. Our quality makes us stand out, with the years of experience acquired by the KP team in top-tier law firms and organisations in Egypt, UAE, the Netherlands, Qatar, Kuwait, and into the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, from which KP’s quality standards for legal services were diverted. Mastering and practicing the law for over a century and a half of combined experience in almost every industry our clients operate within, enables KP to craft the highest quality legal solutions to overcome complex and sophisticated legal matters that our clients encounter throughout their business journey.

AO: Could you expand on your relationship and affiliation with

Infinity?

KP: Since the incorporation of Infinity in 2017, our partner Hani Zahran acted as a general counsel at the company. Here, he assisted Infinity in the submission of the qualification for the Feed-in Tariff programme round one and managed to reach a successful financial closing for the first 50 MW solar power plant project for the company in Egypt. Following that, Hani also led the legal function for the qualification and financial closing for three other projects in round two, totalling 187 MW. Furthermore, he assisted Infinity in expanding in Africa, led the legal team to successfully sign a joint venture agreement with Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, and led the incorporation of Infinity in the Netherlands. Finally, Hani led the KP team in the execution of Infinity’s capital increase, where Infinity Energy’s capital increased to 593,000,000 EGP, while Infinity Capital’s capital increased to 1,200,000,000 EGP.

AO: Finally, what are KP’s key priorities for the years ahead?

KP: Having already established a strong practice in Egypt with reach across MENA, we now seek to establish an even stronger presence in each jurisdiction in the region to continue serving our international clients. Our new establishment in the UAE in association with the prominent litigation Saad Al Hammadi law firm is only a step forward in this arena, and we will continue growing wherever our clients’ needs be.

Mohamed Khodeir, Founder and Managing Partner at Khodeir and Partners

Hani MW. the with companies, ahead? with a stronger serving in law

As the strategic partner on hand to guide clients on their investment quests through Egypt, Khodeir & Partners is a full-service law firm with wide-ranging legal expertise.

The firm leverages an extensive industry background that amounts to over 150 years of combined experience in the field, working with top-tier law firms and organisations. This spans a diverse selection of specialities, with its traditional practice areas including Corporate Structuring, Corporate and Commercial, Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Markets Advisory, Banking and Finance, Competition and Consumer Protection, as well as Litigation and Arbitration.

Khodeir & Partners offers the highest legal quality in corporate, advisory and dispute matters. Founding partner Mohamed Khodeir is especially well-versed in international matters, having practiced law in four jurisdictions. The firm prides itself on a customer-focused approach, whereby it works closely with its partners to co-create the most practical, sound and innovative legal solutions.

Practice Areas

“We have achieved our milestone target of installing 135 EV charging stations, featuring more than 500 charging points, and we are looking to grow that sixfold within the next three years to reach around 3,000 charging points,” Mansour reveals.

“We’re also proud to be Egypt’s most significant contributor to the Benban Solar Park, Africa’s largest photovoltaic power station, as a project developer and turnkey solution provider.”

Infinity, whose vision is to enable a cleaner and more sustainable future, is on a mission to provide innovative and sustainable energy solutions that respect the environment and enable communities to realise their potential while protecting the planet.

“We believe in the right to electricity for everyone, and aim to contribute towards the transition to a clean energy model.

“You can look at waste as a burden, but we see it as an opportunity

to generate electricity over and above Egypt’s great solar and wind resources,” adds Mansour.

MILESTONE ACQUISITION

Over the next five years, Infinity Power plans to expand across Africa and triple its production capacity in the process through greenfield projects.

“Our plan is to realise 1,000 megawatts (MW) of greenfield projects a year. This year we have already grown our capacity from 250 MW to 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of operating assets with a strong pipeline of 13.8 GW,” acclaims Mansour.

This impressive feat follows the acquisition of Lekela Power (Lekela) by Infinity Power, a joint venture (JV) between Infinity and Masdar, one of the largest developers of renewable energy in the Middle East.

Infinity Power, of which Mansour is also Chairman, was established in 2020 to develop utility-scale solar and

wind energy projects in Africa and bring together both companies’ strong track records of developing and operating renewable energy assets.

Lekela currently operates 1 GW of wind power projects in Egypt, South Africa and Senegal, and has a 1.8 GW pipeline of projects that are in various stages of development.

The acquisition of Lekela makes Infinity the largest renewable energy company on the continent, and delivers on the promise made during COP27 of being the fastest-growing renewable energy in Africa.

“Going forward, we will build upon this key milestone to reach our target of installing and operating 2 GW of greenfield projects by 2025,” Mansour outlines.

“With the Lekela transaction finally closed, we have now added wind power capabilities on the operation and development side. We’re very happy with the transaction and will look to extract a lot more value from it.”

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RENEWABLE PLAYERS

Through the Infinity Power JV, Infinity engages with Masdar to contribute towards the transition to a clean energy model.

The company works closely with the strongest renewable players in the region and indeed the world, including the European Bank for

Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

“I think we stand out because of the partnerships we have, be it with Masdar, AFC, or EBRD. We obviously partner with Masdar on the technology, operating and funding side of things; AFC is

an Africa-specific development finance institution (DFI) that is very keen on realising projects on the continent; and EBRD brings the proper governance to do business, so we’re unique in that sense,” Mansour expands.

As a key stakeholder in Infinity, EBRD was proud to be part of the strategic acquisition of Lekela, which is expected to unlock growth opportunities in Egypt and beyond.

With this acquisition, AFC likewise emphasises the importance of utilising steady and affordable power from abundant natural resources to drive a quantum leap in both the scale and diversity of energy solutions.

The international experience, footprint, and trustworthiness of these partners, and others that Infinity has worked with over the years, enable the company to achieve its mission to provide innovative and

INFINITY SERVICES – AT A GLANCE

• Development – Infinity provides high-quality development services to ensure every aspect of the planning, designing, executing, testing and integration of solar projects meets the needs of clients from beginning to end.

• Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) – Comprehensive EPC services including designing, procuring, constructing, and commissioning power plants, as well as solar solutions for carports and rooftops.

• Operations and management (O&M) – Helping solar energy asset owners maximise returns with an increase in solar energy generation, plant availability, and operations that exceed the targeted performance ratio.

• Asset management – Infinity’s asset management services ensure the optimisation of administration and financial management throughout the project lifecycle to favourably impact return on investment.

• Energy sales – Infinity produces and sells energy throughout Egypt and Africa using its own production assets.

• Power distribution – Supporting power generation and distribution to Egypt and Africa by providing consultation and services for electricity networks.

sustainable energy solutions that respect the environment.

“Such partnerships will allow us to realise our plans to develop an extensive portfolio of clean and sustainable energy projects across Africa,” shares Mansour.

With an appetite to develop, neither Infinity nor its partners shy away from risks or opportunities in what is a challenging and volatile market.

“This year we’re looking at a storage project in Senegal that’s almost complete, a wind project in Egypt, and we have a number of different leads in Mauritania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Libya,” Mansour tells us.

“We want to expand our footprint across as many African countries as we can. It’s easier said than done, but that’s always been our goal and is our target for this year. The more we can expand our footprint, the more we can fulfil our mission and vision – that’s our aim and what we strive for.”

COMMUNITY BENEFITS

Over and above Infinity’s close partnerships, Mansour notes that the company solves two ends of the renewable energy equation on both the generation side and the sales side, the latter of which is a key differentiator.

“We’re very active on the generation side thanks to our various partners, but I think the biggest difference is that we’re also active on the sales side.

“We currently sell electricity to utilities that then sell it to the end user, and with our EV charging points we look to provide directly to the end user. I think that’s the biggest difference when you compare us to other companies,” he explains.

As well as improving energy access, Infinity’s projects boost the economic development of Egypt and create much-needed jobs, particularly in remote areas.

The company philosophy of hiring locally for the operation, maintenance and construction of the plant is exemplified across its entire portfolio of projects.

“Local communities benefit a great deal from having projects in their area because they get jobs, they’re taught different skills, and for a period of 20 or 25 years they’re more or less guaranteed a livelihood coming from the plant. I think that’s one of the biggest benefits of what we do,” Mansour says.

Other than the construction, operation and maintenance of plants, Infinity provides vocational training programmes for women in the villages where it operates.

Another important programme is Infinity’s Women in Renewable Energy (I-WIRE) Committee, which aims to increase female participation in the renewable energy field and identify challenges that prevent women from participating in the sector, promoting policies and practices that support gender equality.

“I-WIRE is about including and encouraging more female engineers on-site and in the technical teams of different renewable energy companies,” Mansour informs us.

“It’s something that we’ve just announced, but we’re going to talk about it more and more in the coming quarter.”

Infinity will continue to drive

efforts that reduce carbon emissions, increase renewable energy sources, and develop efficient solutions for the entire region in order to achieve its vision of providing clean, reliable and affordable electricity access to people in underserved communities across Africa.

Hotline: 16051

Landlines: +202 2525 8960, +202 2525 8961, +202 2525 8962

marketing@weareinfinity.com

Info@weareinfinity.com

www.weareinfinity.com

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“WE BELIEVE IN THE RIGHT TO ELECTRICITY FOR EVERYONE, AND AIM TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE TRANSITION TO A CLEAN ENERGY MODEL”

– MOHAMED ISMAIL MANSOUR, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF INFINITY AND CHAIRMAN OF INFINITY POWER