Chariot Ltd (AIM:CHAR, OTC:OIGLF) has formed a new joint venture through a 25% interest in a new South African electricity trading company, Etana Energy.
South Africa is the largest electricity market on the continent but has regular power outages due to insufficient supply.
To combat this energy crisis, rapid market deregulation is currently taking place, said Chariot, which includes selectively issuing electricity trading licences and approving projects of up to 100MW generation capacity.
Etana has been granted an electricity trading licence, which gives it the right to buy and sell electricity on the national transmission grid and within some selected municipal areas.
Chariot will own a 25% stake in Etana, with its other partners Neura holding 49%, H1 Holdings 21% and Meadows Energy 5%.
H1 Holdings and Meadows Energy have already developed large renewable projects in Africa, while Neura has developed hardware and software-based technology specifically designed for trading in the South African environment.
Benoit Garrivier, Chariot Transitional Power chief executive, said: " As one of the largest energy markets in Africa opens up, our trading platform will provide the opportunity to enhance and revolutionise the energy mix across South Africa by supplying greener power for commercial and industrial requirements.
“In forming this joint venture we see a great opportunity to expand our footprint of renewable projects in the country whilst also developing another revenue stream as the private electricity market in South Africa grows.”