Hassanein Hiridjee’s Axian has signed a power purchase agreement with Africa GreenCo for the 200 MW Kudu solar plant, its biggest project yet in Zambia.
Axian Group, the Madagascar-based conglomerate led by businessman Hassanein Hiridjee, has signed a power purchase agreement for a 200-megawatt solar plant in Zambia. The plant will be nearly four times the size of the solar farm Axian bought when it entered the country a year ago.
The agreement for the Kudu solar PV project was signed with Africa GreenCo, a Zambian power buyer and trader, during the Energy Forum for Africa 2026 in Lusaka, Green Building Africa reported. The plant will have an installed capacity of 200 megawatts AC, or 240 megawatts DC, and is expected to generate about 530 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year.
Standard Bank Group and its local unit, Stanbic Bank Zambia, are providing financial and advisory support as the project moves toward financial close and construction. The companies did not disclose the cost of the project or when construction will start.
Selling power across the region
Africa GreenCo buys electricity from independent producers and sells it to utilities, mining companies and other large customers, including through Southern Africa’s regional power market. That allows projects like Kudu to sell power beyond a single state utility.
The deal is part of a wider push to add solar power in Zambia, which relies on hydropower for more than 80% of its electricity. That dependence has left the country exposed to drought, which in recent years has cut output at its main dams and caused long power outages for homes and mines.
Axian’s growing Zambia business
Axian entered Zambia in October 2025, when its renewable energy arm, Axian Energy, bought an 85.6% stake in the 54.3-megawatt Bangweulu solar plant in Kafue District. South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation holds the rest. Bangweulu sells its power to state utility ZESCO under a 25-year contract and was built under the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar program.
At the time, Axian Energy chief executive Benjamin Memmi said the acquisition was the start of a broader investment program in the country.
Axian Group has interests in telecoms, energy, financial services and real estate across Africa. Its energy arm runs solar and other power projects in East, West and Southern Africa and has been expanding into new markets as African governments seek private investment to close power shortages.
The intelligence satisfies curiosity. The paid briefings satisfy strategy.
Every Monday, Elite subscribers receive an Investor Memo breaking down the deal, the structure and the positioning behind the week’s most consequential African wealth story – the kind of analysis that doesn’t appear anywhere else.
Twice a month, a Wealth Intelligence brief profiles a single billionaire’s holdings, cash flows and expansion pipeline in detail no public source matches.
→ Executive ($25/mo): Daily newsletter + Deep-Dive Reports
→ Elite ($75/mo): Everything above + Investor Memos + Wealth Intelligence + Quarterly Analyst Briefings
The Kinuthia family, which built Quickmart from a Nakuru supermarket, stands to collect $37 million as its owners sell half the chain in an IPO.
Kenya's Capital Markets Authority has approved a depositary receipt route for Kenyan investors to buy into billionaire Aliko Dangote's $1.6 billion refinery IPO, the first such deal under its GDR rules.
Mary-Ann Musangi's Haco Industries will make its Amara skincare lotion in Ghana through a partnership with Ayewa Aberfur, as it pushes into West Africa.
The Ndegwa family will pay Sh8.5 billion to buy back the ICEA Lion stake it sold to LeapFrog and Prudential for Sh2.4 billion.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX will buy up to 14MHz of 800MHz spectrum from Grain Management to make Starlink Mobile a U.S. carrier, sending Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile shares down about 6%.
Ethics filings show billionaire Donald Trump’s portfolio bought up to $5 million of SpaceX bonds two days before a presidential order to speed rocket launches; the White House says independent managers made the trade.
President Trump presented the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su, and the technology medal to Michael Dell and Satya Nadella, at a White House science summit.
Elon Musk asked whether Mukesh Ambani is “the real boss of India” after the government denied blocking Starlink, saying all satellite operators await security clearance.
The world’s premier source of news on Africa’s billionaires and UHNWIs.
Get the daily email to stay informed about African billionaires and UHNWIs. Get informed and entertained, for free.
© 2026 – Billionaires.Africa. All Rights Reserved.

source