Aravest raises additional capital from Finnfund to support August Energy’s growth across Southeast Asia and India

Finnfund commits USD 15 million to Aravest-managed investment vehicle, providing follow-on growth capital for August Energy’s Energy-as-a-Service infrastructure platform to help commercial and industrial customers improve cost efficiency and energy resilience while advancing their decarbonisation objectives.

Aravest’s Sustainable Infrastructure business, led by Rohit Nanda, has secured a further USD 15 million commitment from Finnfund, the Finnish development financier and impact investor, to provide follow-on growth capital to August Energy, an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) infrastructure platform.

August Energy operates across India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, helping commercial and industrial customers improve cost efficiency and energy resilience while advancing their decarbonisation objectives. The company develops, owns and operates EaaS projects across two core business verticals: Generation, which includes renewable energy with storage both onsite and through the grid, and Integrated Utilities, including cooling-as-a-service and steam-as-a-service solutions. The company is headquartered in Singapore.

August Energy serves customers in sectors including manufacturing, automotive suppliers, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, hospitality, fast-moving consumer goods and data centres.

Finnfund invests alongside Proparco the French development finance institution, and Asia-Pacific Sustainable & Decarbonisation Infrastructure Equity, LP (SDIEF) through an Aravest-managed investment vehicle that holds shares in August Energy. The commitment comes less than a year after Proparco, the French development finance institution, invested in August Energy through an Aravest-managed investment vehicle. The additional capital will support the continued expansion of August Energy’s portfolio of EaaS infrastructure projects across Southeast Asia and India. This project benefits from EDFI RET, a guarantee managed by EDFI Management Company and funded by the European Union under the EFSD+ programme, as part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy. The EU-backed guarantee helps to mitigate investment risk and support the deployment of renewable energy solutions across India and Southeast Asia.
The second capital raise within a year strengthens August Energy’s capital base and supports the company’s ambition to scale its project portfolio to more than one gigawatt within five years. Aravest has now raised more than USD 30 million of development finance capital for the platform since 2023.

“Securing a second development finance institution within a year of Proparco’s investment reflects both the quality of the August Energy platform and the strength of Aravest’s sustainable infrastructure franchise. Our business is built on partnering with institutional and development capital to develop, own and operate decentralised energy infrastructure over the long term, says Rohit Nanda, Chair of August Energy and Head of Sustainable Infrastructure at Aravest.
“Finnfund is exactly the kind of partner this model depends on. Asia has a very large addressable market for EaaS solutions, driven by decarbonisation, digitalisation and strong demand for reliable, competitively priced energy. Businesses are adopting EaaS to reduce capital expenditure, cut emissions and improve efficiency through bankable models for energy, cooling, solar and storage. This commitment allows us to accelerate that build-out with partners who share our standards on impact and governance. We are also grateful to Manish Jain and TSW Capital, who introduced us to Finnfund and helped bring this partnership together.”

“Finnfund joining Aravest and Proparco with additional capital into August Energy is a strong vote of confidence in our growth trajectory and in the quality of our teams, partners and projects across our markets. With the support of Aravest, Proparco, Finnfund and our other capital partners — Green Tower, InfraCo, responsAbility and Aseem — we are entering our next phase of rapid growth. Together, we look forward to continuing our journey in building an institutionally robust and leading platform across Southeast Asia and India”, comments Kunal Mehta, CEO and founder of August Energy.

“August Energy addresses a clear need in Asia’s industrial and commercial sector, where companies want to decarbonise but often lack the capital to do so. Our investment alongside Aravest and Proparco enables the platform to scale low-carbon energy infrastructure across India and Southeast Asia, supporting regional decarbonisation efforts, adds Jussi Tourunen, Associate Director at Finnfund.

“We are delighted to see August Energy attract additional development finance following Proparco’s investment. Energy-as-a-Service models have a critical role to play in helping industrial and commercial clients accelerate their decarbonisation while preserving capital and strengthening competitiveness. The arrival of Finnfund’s investment alongside Proparco will support the deployment of resilient, low-carbon energy infrastructure across India and Southeast Asia, generating tangible climate, economic and social impact”, comments Claudia Martinez Ochoa, Head of the Asia and Latin America Private Equity division at Proparco.

More information:
Aravest: weijin.lim@aravest.com
August Energy: Jessica Mohapatra, Marketing Director, j.mohapatra@august-energy.com
Finnfund: Associate Director Jussi Tourunen, Finnfund, jussi.tourunen@finnfund.fi and Chief Communications Officer Unna Lehtipuu, unna.lehtipuu@finnfund.fi
Proparco: presse@proparco.fr

About August Energy
August Energy is a developer and long-term owner of energy infrastructure assets, helping corporates across Southeast Asia and India meet their decarbonisation goals profitably, with zero capital investment and at scale. The company provides a comprehensive set of proven and customised energy solutions as a service, including renewable energy, energy storage, cooling, heat recovery and bioenergy. The company is backed by institutional shareholders including an Aravest-managed investment vehicle whose investors are Asia-Pacific Sustainable & Decarbonisation Infrastructure Equity, LP (SDIEF), an Aravest and SMBC Group-backed investment fund, Proparco and Finnfund; Green Tower, an investment vehicle promoted by the Green Giraffe group and Daiwa Securities; and institutional capital partners in Southeast Asia and India, namely the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), responsAbility Investments AG and Aseem Infrastructure Finance Limited.

About Aravest
Aravest is a values-driven asset management firm that delivers alternative investment solutions through strategic partnerships. Headquartered in Singapore, Aravest manages a diversified USD 9 billion portfolio of real assets across Asia Pacific, with key investments in office, hospitality and living, logistics, retail and sustainable infrastructure. With local offices in Seoul and Melbourne and a sponsor group based in Japan, Aravest combines regional capabilities with asset-level expertise to unlock long-term value for its investors.

About Finnfund
Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and impact investor. Finnfund builds a sustainable future and generates lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges with Finnish added value. Each year, Finnfund invests 200–250 million euros in 20–30 companies in developing countries. Its focus is particularly on digital infrastructure and solutions, clean energy, forestry, agriculture, and providing funding for small and medium-sized enterprises through financial institutions.Today, Finnfund’s investments, commitments and investment decisions total about 1.2 billion euros. The company has about 100 employees based in Helsinki and Nairobi.

About Proparco
Proparco is France’s development finance institution dedicated to the private sector and part of the French Development Agency (AFD) Group. For nearly 50 years, it has supported sustainable economic, social, and environmental development across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eurasia, and the Middle East, by financing companies and financial institutions in more than 115 countries. Its activities focus on key sectors including renewable energy, infrastructure, agribusiness, healthcare, and education. Proparco offers a range of financial solutions—loans, guarantees, and investments—as well as technical assistance through its Propulse program. Its subsidiary Digital Africa supports early-stage African tech startups. With 26 local offices worldwide, Proparco works closely with its partners to build a more just and sustainable world.