SA-H2 Fund Managers

What SA-H2 Fund Managers does

SA-H2 Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd is a Cape Town-based blended finance fund manager established in June 2023 as a joint venture between Climate Fund Managers (CFM) and Invest International, the Dutch development financing institution. The company manages the SA-H2 Fund (also known as Climate Investor Three South Africa / CI3 South Africa), a USD 1 billion target blended finance facility dedicated to developing, constructing, and operating green hydrogen infrastructure within South Africa.

The fund is structured around two complementary capital pools: a Development Tranche that provides early-stage risk capital and technical assistance to prepare projects for financial close, and three Blended Equity Tranches (Tier 1 first loss, Tier 2 junior equity, Tier 3 senior equity) that finance construction through a tiered risk-return architecture. The flagship portfolio investment is the Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia Project, a joint venture between UK-based Hive Energy and BuiltAfrica, which integrates 3.6 GW of renewable energy generation, a 1.2 GW electrolyser, air separation, ammonia synthesis, and export infrastructure targeting 1 million tonnes per annum of green ammonia and 2.6 million tonnes of CO2e avoided annually. SA-H2 committed up to USD 20 million in development funding to this project in June 2025, with an option to participate in up to USD 200 million of construction funding.

Revenue is generated through management fees on committed capital across the fund's tranches, supplemented by returns from development-stage equity participation and construction funding rights. The customer base is institutional: anchor investors include Invest International, the European Commission, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), with additional distribution and structuring support from Sanlam Limited. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, executed through development finance networks, industry events such as the Green Hydrogen Summit, and direct institutional engagement rather than broad marketing.

Name

SA-H2 Fund Managers

Legal name

SA-H2 Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://sa-h2.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Green Hydrogen Fund Management

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Renewable Energy & Energy Transition Funds (FSANAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Renewables & Energy Transition Funds (Solar, Wind, Hydrogen, CCUS) (FSANAEAD), Energy & Power Infrastructure Funds (Generation, Transmission, Storage) (FSANAEAB), Climate Finance Funds & Green Investment Facilities (BPADACAH), Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Blended finance
• Green hydrogen
• Fund management
• Renewable infrastructure
• Climate finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: SA-H2 Fund Managers generates revenue through fund management fees charged on the USD 1 billion blended finance facility. The fund structure includes Development Tranche providing early-stage capital and Blended Equity Tranches for construction financing, with fees earned across all phases.
2. Development Funding Returns: Returns from development stage investments including the USD 20 million commitment to Hive Hydrogen, with options for construction phase participation up to USD 200 million. Revenue derived from equity participation and construction funding rights.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SA-H2 Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd is a joint venture between Climate Fund Managers (CFM) and Invest International that manages the SA-H2 Fund (also known as Climate Investor Three South Africa / CI3 South Africa), a USD 1 billion target blended finance facility. The fund invests in the development, construction, and operation of green hydrogen infrastructure within South Africa through a Development Tranche for early-stage risk capital and three Blended Equity Tranches (Tier 1 first loss, Tier 2 junior equity, Tier 3 senior equity) for construction financing.

Product overview

SA-H2 Fund Managers operates as a blended finance fund manager rather than a technology product company. The core offering is the SA-H2 Fund (also known as Climate Investor Three South Africa), a USD 1 billion target blended finance facility dedicated to accelerating South Africa's energy transition and green hydrogen economy. The fund structure comprises a Development Tranche providing early-stage risk capital and three Blended Equity Tranches (Tier 1, 2, 3) offering tiered capital structures to enable participation by public and private investors. The fund invests in the development, construction, and operation of green hydrogen infrastructure assets across South Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SA-H2 Fund (Climate Investor Three South Africa / CI3 South Africa) A USD 1 billion target blended finance facility investing in the development, construction, and operation of green hydrogen infrastructure within South Africa. The fund comprises a Development Tranche for early-stage risk capital and technical assistance, and Blended Equity Tranches (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3) to finance construction through a tiered capital structure.
• Development Tranche The development tranche of the SA-H2 Fund providing early-stage risk capital and technical assistance to prepare green hydrogen projects for financial close. Investors include Invest International and the European Commission, with subsequent commitments from DBSA and IDC.
• Blended Equity Tranches (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3) Construction financing through a tiered capital structure: Tier 1 (first loss tranche absorbing construction-stage risk), Tier 2 (junior equity tranche with enhanced returns), and Tier 3 (senior equity tranche supported by risk mitigation instruments offering moderate risk-adjusted returns).

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ jobs created across Eastern, Western and Northern Cape during construction and operations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Hive Hydrogen South AfricaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2025Joint venture between UK-based Hive Energy and South African renewable energy company BuiltAfrica, developing the Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia Project. Thulani Gcabashe serves as Executive Chairman. Project designated as South Africa's Lighthouse Green Hydrogen Project with Strategic Integrated Project status.
• Climate Fund Managers (CFM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2023Joint venture partner and fund manager alongside Invest International. CFM is a climate-focused blended finance investment manager with track record of mobilizing over USD 2 billion through Climate Investor One and Climate Investor Two funds. Andrew Johnstone serves as CEO of CFM and Sebastiaan Surie serves as Head of New Ventures.
• ITOCHU CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapanese conglomerate with memorandum of cooperation for potential involvement as strategic equity investor and off-taker for the Hive Hydrogen project. Targets growing export demand in Asia and the European Union.
• Hive EnergyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based energy company co-developing the Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia Project through joint venture with BuiltAfrica.
• BuiltAfricaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth African renewable energy and investment company co-developing the Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia Project through joint venture with Hive Energy.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Green Climate Fund: The largest multilateral climate fund globally, channelling concessional capital from developed countries into climate mitigation and adaptation projects in developing economies. A potential indirect LP or co-financier of SA-H2's portfolio and a direct competitor for DFI climate allocations targeting South Africa.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank Group's private-sector arm and the archetypal blended-finance DFI. Provides concessional and commercial capital to climate infrastructure in emerging markets; competes with SA-H2 for the same DFI-funded pipeline and serves as a model for the Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3 risk-sharing structure.
• Actis: Global emerging-markets private equity firm with a major energy infrastructure franchise (long-standing ownership of renewable platforms in Africa and Latin America). Operates at a larger scale than SA-H2 but competes for the same DFI LP base and the same South African green hydrogen / renewable energy opportunity set.

Regional players

• Sanlam Investments: South African financial services group's investment arm and a strategic partner to SA-H2. Manages infrastructure and sustainable-investment strategies across South Africa using blended capital structures; a regional peer and a potential co-investor on SA-H2 portfolio projects.
• Ninety One: South African-headquartered global asset manager with a substantial sustainable and infrastructure investment capability. Comparable geographic footprint and ability to deploy institutional capital into South African clean-energy and infrastructure themes; serves as an indirect competitor for Tier 3 senior equity and pension-fund mandates.

Direct peers

• Climate Fund Managers: SA-H2's parent JV partner and blended climate-finance investment manager. Operates the parallel Climate Investor One and Climate Investor Two funds (USD 2B+ mobilised) targeting clean energy infrastructure in emerging markets, sharing the same blended-finance thesis, tiered capital architecture, and DFI-anchored LP base as SA-H2.
• Inspired Evolution: South African climate-focused private equity fund manager investing in renewable energy and resource efficiency across sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable to SA-H2 in mandate and geography, with a similar mix of institutional/DFI LPs and infrastructure-style clean-energy exposure.
• Invest International: Dutch bilateral development finance institution and the other JV parent of SA-H2. Invests directly in clean-energy and climate infrastructure projects in emerging markets using blended finance, providing development capital and structuring expertise that mirror SA-H2's Development Tranche role.
• African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM): Pan-African infrastructure-focused private equity manager raising capital from DFIs and institutional investors to finance energy and infrastructure across the continent. Overlapping investor base (DBSA, IFC) and overlapping renewable-energy pipeline make it a directly comparable South African-anchored peer.

Others

• Convergence Blended Finance: Global blended-finance ecosystem platform providing deal data, capital connections, and design support for emerging-market blended-finance vehicles. While not a direct competitor, Convergence operates in the same blended-finance ecosystem and serves many of the same DFI and institutional LPs that anchor SA-H2.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SA-H2 Fund Managers