About Us
Renewable
Energy Producer
BTE Renewables delivers utility-scale wind and solar projects across Africa. We have a proven track record of taking projects from development, all the way into operations. Our team brings nearly two decades of experience in the power sector, having raised over USD1bn of funding to take projects to financial close and delivered over 436MW into construction and operations.
We have our own in-house construction and operations team consisting of contract management, engineering performance, site construction and power plant operation specialists. We also have a dedicated team of sustainability/ESG specialists, who work across all of our projects. Our projects are developed to IFC performance standards, uphold the highest health, safety and environmental standards and work closely with local communities to ensure long term value creation for all stakeholders.
Today, we have nearly 500MW of operating projects in our portfolio.
Renewable
Energy Producer
BTE Renewables delivers utility-scale wind and solar projects across Africa. We have a proven track record of taking projects from development, all the way into operations. Our team brings nearly two decades of experience in the power sector, having raised over USD1bn of funding to take projects to financial close and delivered over 436MW into construction and operations.
We have our own in-house construction and operations team consisting of contract management, engineering performance, site construction and power plant operation specialists. We also have a dedicated team of sustainability/ESG specialists, who work across all of our projects. Our projects are developed to IFC performance standards, uphold the highest health, safety and environmental standards and work closely with local communities to ensure long term value creation for all stakeholders.
Today, we have nearly 500MW of projects in our portfolio.
Our Team
Management Team
Robert Skjodt
Chief Executive Officer
Robert brings 30 years of power generation experience across 6 continents. He has extensive experience in business development, financing, investment, construction, asset management and electricity trading across a number of technologies. Previously, Robert was the CEO at Okavango, Actis’ African renewable energy platform, which was merged with BTE in 2018. Prior to that, Robert has held roles as the Head of Project Development & Investments for a subsidiary of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Director of Wind at Danish Investment Foundation and Group Vice President at ABB Utilities Management. He has an M.Sc in International Business Economics.
Robert Skjodt
Chief Executive Officer
Fabian Cazares
Chief Financial Officer
Fabian brings over 15 years of experience in restructuring financing, project and corporate finance across the African continent, Asia, Latam and mature markets. Prior to joining BTE, Fabian held senior and executive finance positions in Private Equity backed companies across pharma, healthcare and forestry industries and also in multinationals such as Philips. Fabian holds a Masters in Finance and Strategy and recently completed an executive MBA with a focus on investment management and private equity both from the University of Oxford.
Fabian Cazares
Chief Financial Officer
Libby Hirshon
Sustainability Director
Libby is Sustainability Director at BTE. She joined the Actis platform, Okavango, in July 2018 and has been Sustainability Director at BTE since its acquisition in August 2019. She has over 20 years of experience across all industries and multiple countries in Africa. Prior to joining Okavango and then BTE, she worked for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a specialist in their Africa team. Before this, she worked for Environmental Resources Management (ERM) for 12 years, ultimately heading up their Social Development team and specialising in ESG due diligence, advisory and supervision work.
Libby Hirshon
Sustainability Director
Katy-Lynne Kay
General Counsel
Katy brings over a decade of legal experience in project financing transactions and corporate transactions, across numerous sectors, including renewable energy and power. She is responsible for all legal and compliance aspects at BTE. Previously, she was a Partner at Fasken Law Firm in South Africa. Katy holds a BA LLB from the University of Cape Town. She was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2012.
Katy-Lynne Kay
General Counsel
Lerato Nonyane
Human Resources Director
Lerato has over 15 years’ experience as a Generalist Human Resources professional. She has specialised in Labour Relations, Talent Acquisition, Skills Development and Diversity Management. At BTE, Lerato leads all Human Resources aspects across the Group. Previously, Lerato has held positions at Enel Green Power, Aveng Mining, Joy Global (Komatsu Mining group), Mining Qualifications Authority SETA and Edcon Financial Services. Lerato is a registered Human Resources Professional with The South African Board for People Practices and The South African Labour Law Society. She has qualifications in Business Psychology and Human Behaviour as well as an Honours Degree in Human Resources Management.
Lerato Nonyane
Human Resources Director
Nikhath Zigmund
Business Development Director, Africa
Nikhath brings over 15 years of experience in the African power sector. She has previously worked for Actis and Empower (a former Globeleq company) in London, and Berkeley Energy in Nairobi. She has primarily focussed on developing, and investing in, power generation and distribution businesses across the continent and has a track record of bringing projects to financial close. Nikhath holds an MA in Computer Science from Cambridge University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Nikhath Zigmund
Business Development Director, Africa
Stefan van Niekerk
Head of Operations
Stefan has over 20 years of power project implementation experience across Africa. He was previously the General Manager of BTE’s 100 MW Kipeto Wind Project in Kenya ensuring the successful implementation of the project. Previously, he has worked with a wide range of power technologies being involved in all phases of development. Originally a mechanical engineer, he has worked for PBMR, a nuclear start-up, for 10 years before joining WorleyParsons as a project manager for the next 10 years, where he was leading development of renewable energy projects.
Stefan van Niekerk
Head of Operations
Evan Jones
Engineering & Performance Director
Evan brings 30 years of multi-disciplinary engineering experience focused in the aerospace and renewable energy sectors. He has previously worked as a flight test engineer for a local SA company sub-contracted by BAE Systems, prior to joining Basil Read in Johannesburg as EPC Engineering Manager for a SA REIPP round 1 wind project. Since joining BTE, his primary role has been technical EPC risk mitigation and quality assurance during both contract negotiation and the project execution phases. Evan is registered as a Professional Engineer and holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch.
Evan Jones
Engineering & Performance Director
Directors
Barry Lynch - Chairman
Barry joined Actis in 2016 as Head of Energy Operations. Prior to Actis he spent 8 years with Mainstream Renewable Power as Managing Director of Procurement, Construction and Operations with responsibility for delivering large scale wind and solar projects through the equity structuring, project financing and construction phases into operation in Europe, North America, Latin America and Africa. He was an executive director and board member at Mainstream and sat on the boards of two Actis Energy portfolio companies (Lekela Power and Aela Energia). Prior to joining Mainstream, Barry spent 8 years with ESB International and was involved in the construction and operation of large scale thermal power plants. Barry holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Dublin Institute of Technology.
Barry Lynch - Chairman
Allen Morgan
Allen currently serves as a director of Imalivest Assets (Pty) Ltd. and as a non-executive director of BTE. Allen holds a BSc BEng (Elec) degree from the University of Stellenbosch and fellowships from the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers and the South African Academy of Engineers. He is also an honorary Professor of the Moscow State Academy of Instrument Engineering and Computer Sciences.
Allen Morgan
Lisa Pinsley
Lisa is Partner, Head of Middle East & Africa, Energy Infrastructure at Actis. She has 23 years of experience in growth markets and over 13 years in power sector investing, including prior positions at The AES Corporation, Globeleq and American Capital. Before her power career, Lisa lived and worked in Afghanistan for five years, both for the United Nations Development Programme and as an advisor in a chief of staff role to the Afghan Finance Minister. Lisa holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MA in Literature from the University of Sussex, and a BA in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.
Lisa Pinsley
Rosalind Kainyah
Rosalind Kainyah MBE is the founder and Managing Director of Kina Advisory Limited, a Sustainability advisor to companies operating in Africa and other emerging markets. She has almost 30 years of combined international, senior management, executive and board level experience in companies and organisations including Linklaters, Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, De Beers, Tullow Oil plc, the United Nations Environment Programme and ERM, and on projects across the world.
Rosalind sits on the board of discoverIE group plc, and is a Non-executive Director of Lekela Power, Gem Diamonds Limited and of CAL Bank Limited, Ghana.
Rosalind holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Ghana, a Bachelor of Laws degree from University of London and a Master of laws degree from University College, London.
Rosalind Kainyah
Suman Babbar
Suman has been actively engaged with the infrastructure sector and project finance over the past five decades. He spent his initial years in the Indian power sector including establishment of National Thermal Power Corporation one of the largest power utilities. Since 1985, he has been at the World Bank in various capacities. Prior to retirement, he lead the Project Finance and Guarantees program at the World Bank which supported mobilization of private capital for infrastructure using the World Bank guarantees. He was a non-executive Director of Globeleq Generation (a UK based power developer) from 2009 until 2015. He is currently a non-Executive Director on the Board of Lekela Power, and Senior Adviser with Actis.
Suman Babbar
Shareholder
Actis is a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure. Actis has raised US$24 billion since inception and operates with sustainability at its core. Actis believes Values Drive Value; through deep operational experience, on the ground presence and a value-led approach, Actis delivers competitive returns for its institutional investors and measurable positive impact for the countries, cities and communities in which it invests.
Actis is a signatory to the United Nations backed Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), an investor initiative developed by the UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact. The firm has consistently been awarded the highest rating score in the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) independent assessment.
Actis invests behind global themes and is an active owner, driving value to create sustainability leaders.
Actis’ Energy Infrastructure team invest on a global scale in buy and build power generation and distribution businesses, driven by strong market demand and growth, supporting the Energy Transition and accelerating the journey to Net Zero. Actis has invested in over 70 renewable energy projects to date, with approximately 11GW of renewable energy capacity globally and is targeting another 14GW of energy generation capacity.
Actis is investing its latest Energy 5 Fund, which represents US$6 billion of investable capital to accelerate the Energy Transition globally.
Shareholder:
actis
Actis is a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure. Actis has raised US$24 billion since inception and operates with sustainability at its core. Actis believes Values Drive Value; through deep operational experience, on the ground presence and a value-led approach, Actis delivers competitive returns for its institutional investors and measurable positive impact for the countries, cities and communities in which it invests.
Actis is a signatory to the United Nations backed Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), an investor initiative developed by the UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact. The firm has consistently been awarded the highest rating score in the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) independent assessment.
Actis invests behind global themes and is an active owner, driving value to create sustainability leaders.
Actis’ Energy Infrastructure team invest on a global scale in buy and build power generation and distribution businesses, driven by strong market demand and growth, supporting the Energy Transition and accelerating the journey to Net Zero. Actis has invested in over 70 renewable energy projects to date, with approximately 11GW of renewable energy capacity globally and is targeting another 14GW of energy generation capacity.
Actis is investing its latest Energy 5 Fund, which represents US$6 billion of investable capital to accelerate the Energy Transition globally.