Our track record – Everything EWIA has achieved since 2020

In a recent article, the World Economic Forum (WEF) emphasised the crucial role of the productive use of renewable energies for Africa's economic development.

Around 600 million of theOur Track Record – What EWIA Has Achieved Since 2020

The year is 2020. The coronavirus is sweeping across the world, bringing societies and economies to a standstill. Supply chains are collapsing, international travel becomes nearly impossible, and no one knows what the next day will bring. It is truly not the ideal time to start a company.

Nevertheless, that is exactly what the committed founders Ralph Schneider, Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Fugger, and Timo Schäfer do in Munich. A subsidiary is founded in Ghana, and then things get started.

2020: Solar-as-a-Service

EWIA Green Investments raises funds from European investors to enable SMEs in West Africa, specifically in Ghana, to switch to solar power.

Everyday life in Ghana is defined by “Dumsor,” fairly regular power outages. Electricity here is also significantly too expensive, and everywhere diesel generators kick in—making noise and polluting the air.

At the same time, the sun shines continuously here; no continent records more hours of sunlight than Africa. So what speaks against widespread use of PV? The acquisition cost of the systems.

This is exactly where “EWIA” comes in—which means “sun” in Twi, one of the local languages.

A Solar-as-a-Service model solves the problem. Our investors pre-finance the PV systems, and the SMEs essentially lease them from EWIA. Over time, they save a huge amount of money and diesel, and CO₂ emissions are reduced. Because they save money, the entrepreneurs become more competitive. With EWIA’s flexible full-service financing solution, companies have the opportunity to receive solar power, safety, and service from a single source—and liquidity is also created. Investors, in turn, can invest in a growth industry in a growth region and achieve attractive returns and a triple impact: contributing to the energy transition, creating jobs, and laying the foundation for broader prosperity.

At that time, external companies still install the actual systems. Our customers include poultry farms, lodges, and also hospitals in all parts of the country—such as in Tamale, Kumasi, or Takoradi.

In March 2022, we also equip an orphanage—free of charge—in collaboration with Huawei and Jubaili Bros Solar (more on this here). And we hire our staff locally.

2021: EWIA Infrastructure

An important step in our development is the founding of EWIA Infrastructure Ltd. in Ghana. We gradually expand our business model to include infrastructure projects. Telecommunications companies are increasingly opening up remote areas in Ghana. Not only do we now equip cell towers and traffic monitoring systems with photovoltaic systems for power supply—we also build the towers ourselves. To date, there are 85, and the number is growing. With this unit, we also create the foundation to carry out solar system installations with our own team.

The number of employees grows in proportion to the projects.

2022/2023: Cooperation Between SunErgy, KGAL, and EWIA

As early as 2019, our CEO Ralph Schneider flies to Oslo for the first time. What begins back then as an initial exploratory meeting is successfully turned into a cooperation agreement in 2023.

By this time, SunErgy Oslo has already been active for several years in the mini-grid sector in Cameroon and has successfully electrified several villages.

Shareholders of SunErgy include, among others, the founding partner of the module manufacturer REC, the independent solar energy provider Scatec, and the Munich-Grünwald-based institutional asset manager KGAL.

Accordingly, the balance of power between EWIA and SunErgy is initially very unequal: a newcomer meets an established professional.

2023: EWIA Finance and Expansion of the Value Chain

Course corrections and a strategic realignment are due. This includes two essential points.

Based on the experience of the first projects, management decides as a first step to expand the value chain to include the planning and construction segment of solar projects.

From now on, solar solutions are developed, planned, and also built by our own engineers. Technical expertise and installation quality are key.

The second move follows immediately. EWIA’s management—Ralph Schneider, Timo Schneider, and Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Fugger—consists of three experts in Africa, finance, and solar energy. Numbers are their world, and digital financial instruments are a special interest. Thus, EWIA Finance is created—a dedicated financing platform through which investors can directly finance PV systems of selected projects in Ghana. So far, a hospital, a cooperative bank, a mobility provider, a hotel, and a recycling company have benefited from this.

April 2025: EWIA Acquires SunErgy

Two years after the start of cooperation on solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, EWIA Green Investments GmbH, SunErgy GmbH, and KGAL decide to turn the partnership into a merger.

EWIA acquires all shares in SunErgy. In return, shareholders of SunErgy acquire shares in EWIA.

This is a significant step for us for two reasons:

1. We are now also active in Cameroon, where SunErgy has already electrified several villages. It is now twelve. This not only expands our business model, but also enlarges our footprint in Africa.

   Our ambition is to become the first truly pan-African solar financier.

   
   

2. We now have even more employees. By now, all EWIA companies together have 76 employees.

We also regularly welcome interns, to whom we are happy to pass on our knowledge.

It is important to us to create long-term local jobs in a sustainable industry.

2025: EWIA Active in Three African Countries

But in fact, EWIA is already one step further—subsidiaries already exist in Ghana, Cameroon—and Nigeria.

Time and again, especially our West Africa Director Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Fugger, has made trips in recent years to Africa’s largest and most dynamic economy. Relationships were nurtured. The seeds are now bearing fruit. More on that soon.

In general: more to come. Growth, expansion, and diversification are on the agenda. Stay tuned!

By the way, if you are wondering how the three countries Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria have grown since 2020 (the coronavirus year par excellence), take a look.

	Ghana	Cameroon	Nigeria
2020	0,5%	0,5%	-1,8%
2021	5,1%	3,6%	3,6%
2022	3,8%	3,6%	3,3%
2023	2,9%	4,0%	2,9%
2024	3,1% (forecast)	4,1% (forecast)	3,4%
2025	4,4 – 4,8 % (forecast)	4,4% (forecast)	3,2% (forecast)