London, United Kingdom: The Abraaj Group (Abraaj), a private equity investor, has announced the formation of a dedicated project development arm to extend its investment capabilities in the energy infrastructure space.

As a member of The Abraaj Group, Themis Energy (Themis), the announcement said, will leverage the group’s local teams, global network, execution capabilities and existing infrastructure team to originate, develop and manage projects from concept stage to operations.

Abraaj, elaborating on the ambit of Themis, which it acquired earlier, said that it will address the large power deficit in growth markets, where it perceives a lack of well-structured quality and bankable projects inhibiting economic development. The company’s global strategy, it said, is aimed at capturing value throughout the lifecycle of primarily renewable and energy efficiency projects across several sub-sectors and technologies.

Tas Anvaripour will join Abraaj as a Partner in the energy infrastructure team, following her previous roles as CEO of Africa 50 and Chairperson of Themis, Abraaj informed, while Marc Mandaba, Founder of Themis and former Private Infrastructure Investment Officer at the African Development Bank, will join Abraaj as Managing Director and Head of Themis, along with a team of 12 experienced project finance and development professionals.

“Abraaj’s ambition is to effectively manage capital across a number of energy sub-sectors and through all stages of the energy asset lifecycle, from early developments through greenfield to operations,” said Sev Vettivetpillai, Partner and Global Head of Abraaj’s Thematic Fund Business, commenting on the business launch.

Anvaripour added, “The combination of Themis’ development experience and Abraaj’s investment track record, global networks and local footprint, provides a unique ability to develop and invest in high-quality energy assets in growth markets.”