EAAIF and Ninety One back Verdant to acquire pioneering wind power and storage project in the Philippines
- Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (“EAAIF”) and Ninety One’s Emerging Market Transition Debt (“EMTD”) strategy jointly commit $30 million to accelerate the Philippines’ transition to a clean energy future.
- The transaction breaks new ground for all parties involved — Verdant Energy, EAAIF, and Ninety One’s EMTD strategy — representing their first engagement in the Philippines, Verdant’s debut project in the market, and its first debt financing.
- The transaction unites pioneering infrastructure investors and developers with complementary portfolios and growing positions in the Asian infrastructure market.
London – 16 February 2026 – The Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group (“PIDG”) company managed by Ninety One, and Ninety One’s EMTD strategy, today announced an agreement to back Verdant Energy (“Verdant”) to acquire the pioneering 16MW wind and 6MW/MWh storage power project of Philippines Hybrid Energy Systems Inc (“PHESI” or the “Project”) in the Philippines.
The Project – backed by a $30 million bridge-loan acquisition financing from EAAIF and Ninety One’s EMTD strategy- provides immediate and stable cash flow to support Verdant, a prominent renewable energy developer, in expanding its operations into the Philippines’ renewable energy sector. Verdant’s local partner, Raslag, a publicly listed Philippine renewable energy company with a longstanding presence in the country’s energy sector, will co-invest with Verdant in the Project. Finergreen acted as Verdant’s exclusive financial advisor for this acquisition financing.
The operational PHESI 16MW wind farm and 6MW/MWh storage power project is located in the municipality of Puerto Galera, in the province of Oriental Mindoro. The Project supplies clean energy to Mindoro Island, which is currently not connected to the Philippines’ national grid and faces challenges related to power costs and supply stability.
The acquisition empowers Verdant to contribute to enhancing and stabilising the Philippines’ supply of affordable, sustainable and reliable power with plans to connect Mindoro Island to the national grid in the coming years. The commitment accelerates Verdant’s strategy to boost greenfield investments in high-quality renewable energy projects across the Asia Pacific. The partnership with Raslag leverages its local and sector expertise – progressing Verdant’s plans to invest in more than 1.5 GW of projects over the next five years.
The acquisition unites transformative businesses with growing portfolios in the Asian infrastructure market. Verdant and Raslag complement EAAIF’s established approach to partnership-driven infrastructure development, which provides long-term commercial debt capital solutions to sustainable and impactful operators, developers, and projects in Asia and Africa. Launched in 2024, Ninety One’s EMTD strategy is an integrated private and public credit portfolio that invests at the intersection of return and impact. The strategy aims to catalyse investment into the emerging market energy transition by providing commercial financing to companies providing decarbonisation solutions or with credible transition plans — supporting real-world emissions reduction while delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors.
Co-existing within the indigenous community, the PHESI project provides local communities with a livelihood programme in the form of maintaining a tree nursery and tree plantation, demonstrating the economic potential of climate- and nature-positive investments in a region where wind power is considered among the best in the Philippines.
The transaction aligns with the PIDG 2023-2030 strategy, which increases private debt opportunities for climate-resilient infrastructure in emerging markets and developing economies, positioning the Philippines as one of the key markets in Southeast Asia for the energy transition.
The Philippines has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 and aims to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040. The Project underscores the Philippines’ strong potential for wind power, clean industrialisation, grid development, and a rising commitment to reduce coal dependency, provide energy security, and attract local and international finance for climate-aligned growth.
Siva Sreedharan, Chief Investment Officer at Verdant Energy, added: “We are proud to partner with EAAIF, Ninety One, and Raslag in advancing the Philippines’ renewable energy ambitions. This project exemplifies how international capital, local expertise, and innovative development can come together to drive inclusive, sustainable growth. Beyond powering homes and businesses, the project will strengthen energy security and create long-term socio-economic value for the communities we serve.”
Roland Janssens, Managing Director at Ninety One and for EAAIF, commented: “We are driven by a purpose to empower economies and businesses with financial capacity and flexibility through our lending products and expertise. The Asia infrastructure market offers exciting prospects for growth to EAAIF, PIDG and Ninety One, and our loan for Verdant’s acquisition illustrates a significant step ahead in our strategy to expand and diversify our offer as we shape the future of infrastructure finance in the region in ways that are commercially sound, impactful, and inclusive.”
Matt Christ, Emerging Market Transition Debt Portfolio Manager, Ninety One: “This investment reflects exactly what our Emerging Markets Transition Debt strategy was built to do: deploy commercial capital to credible transition leaders in markets where it can also contribute to meaningful real-world impact. Verdant’s entry into the Philippines’ renewable energy sector, supported by strong local partnership, demonstrates the power of targeted financing to accelerate decarbonisation, improve energy security, and unlock commercially robust opportunities for investors. The Philippines presents a significant opportunity for high-quality transition investments, and this partnership illustrates how disciplined capital can enable capable developers to scale.”