Africa Go Green Fund (“AGG”), managed by Cygnum Capital (“Cygnum”), and Spark+ Africa Fund (“Spark+”), managed by Enabling Qapital (“EQ”), have disbursed a USD 18.2m Senior Debt Facility to NewGas Cylinder Bottling Ltd (“NewGas”), an affiliate of The Quantum Group Limited (“Quantum”) and a subsidiary of Arch Holdings Limited (“Arch”).
The syndicated loan will be used to finance investments made in the engineering, construction and commissioning of NewGas’ LPG Bottling Plant in Tema and the procurement of cylinders required for LPG distribution.
In Ghana, 67% of the population still relies on harmful cooking fuels like wood and charcoal. Expanding clean cooking gas distribution and driving education are key to accelerating the transition to LPG nationwide. Beyond its health and environmental benefits, LPG is a cheaper energy source, offering 25% savings from a traditional fuel source like charcoal.
NewGas is transforming Ghana’s cooking fuel landscape with its newly developed LPG bottling plant and a robust distribution network. With funding from AGG and Spark+, NewGas is well-positioned to facilitate widespread access to cleaner, more affordable cooking energy.
Hatch and EBS Advisory (now EY) provided technical and ESG-related advice, ensuring that investments made are aligned with the highest international standards of environmental and social responsibility and that the technology being deployed is fit-for-purpose and best in market.
Legal advice was provided to AGG and Spark+ by Hunton Andrews Kurth and Morgan Lewis Bockius, respectively, and both were advised by Keystone Solicitors in Ghana. NewGas was advised by A&O Shearman and Senet Corporate Solicitors in Ghana.
Emmanuel Egyei-Mensah, Chief Executive Officer, NewGas, commented: “We are deeply grateful to Africa Go Green Fund and Spark+ Africa Fund for their partnership and shared vision for a cleaner, healthier, and more energy-resilient Ghana. This investment marks a major milestone in our journey to transform access to safe and affordable LPG across the country.
With this facility, NewGas is not just building infrastructure — we’re building the foundation for a cleaner way of life for millions of Ghanaians. Together, we are igniting a new era of sustainable cooking and energy access.”
Laurene Aigrain, Managing Director, Cygnum / AGG, commented: “Big moves for a cleaner future! We are proud to back NewGas in helping 3 million households in Ghana transition to cleaner cooking fuels. Expanding LPG access is more than just a fuel switch— it’s an investment in public health, environmental sustainability, and economic affordability for families. With better infrastructure and bold action, NewGas is leading the charge for a sustainable energy future in Ghana. Let’s make the switch happen!”
Brian McConnell, Vice President – Africa Region, EQ / Spark+, commented: “We are pleased to support NewGas, a leader in expanding consumer access to LPG in Ghana. Our funding will expand access to a high-quality, cleaner and more efficient cooking option for clients under the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM). NewGas is a natural expansion of Arch’s business lines, generating positive environmental, social and financial returns.”
About NewGas Cylinder Bottling Limited
NewGas is an LPG Cylinder Bottling company in Ghana and a subsidiary of Arch. Founded in 2012, Arch is a Ghana-based conglomerate with diverse operations across the oil and gas sector, including infrastructure, terminals, trading, retail, industrials, and energy development. AGG and Spark+ have funded Arch’s Clean Cooking Programme, a cylinder recirculation model endorsed by the World LPG Association, aimed at scaling LPG adoption across the country. newgas.online/the-group
About Africa Go Green Fund
AGG is designed to support activities that mitigate GHG emissions in Africa. The fund provides debt financing to businesses and projects across the spaces of industrial energy efficiency, green buildings, clean transport, and green appliances. KfW established AGG and has received funding commitments from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (“BMZ”) through KfW, in addition to funding commitments from the African Development Bank (and in its own capacity as the implementing entity for SEFA and the Clean Technology Fund (“CTF”)), the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), Nordic Development Fund (“NDF”), British International Investment (“BII”) and Calvert Impact Capital. The fund’s current committed capital is at USD 166 million. agg-fund.com
About Cygnum Capital (Formerly Lion’s Head Global Partners)
Cygnum Capital Group is an investment bank and asset manager operating across frontier and emerging markets. Founded in 2008, Cygnum Capital is a global provider of tailored and innovative financial solutions to meet its clients’ diverse needs.
Cygnum Capital uses long-term relationships, networks and local market understanding to deliver a best-in-class service. With offices in London, Nairobi, Lagos, Dubai, and Amsterdam, Cygnum Capital’s dynamic team of 70 finance professionals provide deep sectoral expertise, a broad product offering, an asset management platform and the ability to leverage synergies between our corporate finance, asset management and advisory activities.
Cygnum Capital Asset Management manages six pioneering funds: five debt funds, including: (i) the African Local Currency Bond Fund (“ALCBF”), a ground-breaking investment vehicle established to support local currency capital markets, (ii) Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (“OGEF”), which supports companies in off-grid energy such as SHS and small-medium mini-grids;
(iii) Facility for Energy Inclusion (“FEI”) which support companies that provide a range of renewable energy solutions such as medium – large mini- grids, C&I and IPP with a maximum capacity of 25 MW, (iv) AfricaGoGreen (“AGG”) Fund which supports companies combating climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels through new technologies and that increase energy efficiency;
(v) the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (“AATIF”) which invests in projects that enhance efficiency across the agricultural value chain; and a VC private equity fund (vi) E3 Low Carbon Economy Fund for Africa (“E3 LCEF”) which invests in climate-smart services, digital connectivity & Applications, low-carbon productivity enablers. Cygnum Capital Asset Management has over USD 1.1 billion of assets under management with investments in more than 34 African countries. cygnumcapital.com
About Spark+ Africa Fund
Spark+ is a USD 64 million impact investment fund that invests in scalable, next-generation companies offering clean, modern distributed energy solutions for cooking to the mass market in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the first fund launched by Spark+ General Partner S.à.r.l., a joint venture between its fund manager Enabling Qapital and Netherlands-based foundation Stichting Modern Cooking.
The fund is a partnership of public and private sector investors: Development Finance Institutions include African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), the European Commission, and the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Foundations and family offices include Ceniarth, Osprey Foundation, Fundacion Netri, and the Ashden Trust. Four major pension funds have also been invested in Spark+, including the pension fund of leading insurance company Baloise Group and GastroSocial, as well as the pension fund of the hospitality industry, both in Switzerland. sparkafricafund.com
About Enabling Qapital
EQ is an investment fund management company with strong ties in the impact investment sector and deep expertise in finance, with its founding partners’ unique skillsets and a 100+ year proven track record. EQ is the fund manager of the Enabling Microfinance Fund and has a global footprint of investment professionals across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America who originate, execute, and monitor investments. EQ is the fund manager of Spark+ and a shareholder in Spark+ GP. enabling.ch.
