Actis is a global investment firm that aims to accelerate the transition to a net-zero future. They focus investment on sustainable infrastructure.
Since inception Actis has raised US $24 billion
Actis is a global sustainable infrastructure investor managing roughly $97 billion under General Atlantic since 2024, with thematic investments in Energy, Digital, Long-Life Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Equity across growth markets, aiming for net-zero portfolio emissions by 2050 through an industrialist, ESG-driven approach.
Mission: ‘Transforming Infrastructure for a better tomorrow’.
Goals:
Values:
Actis emerged in July 2004 when CDC Group spun out its investment-management arm: the management team bought 60% of the new firm for £373,000, while CDC retained 40% and guaranteed Actis a five-year mandate to manage CDC’s existing US$900 million portfolio. Paul Fletcher moved from CDC to become Actis’s first CEO and Lord Cairns became inaugural chairman, heading a founding partner group that included David Morley and Torbjorn Caesar. In October 2024 General Atlantic completed its acquisition of Actis, creating a combined platform of approximately US$97 billion in assets under management; Actis now operates as General Atlantic’s Sustainable Infrastructure arm under Chairman Torbjorn Caesar.
Torbjorn Caesar Chairman and Senior Partner
David Morley Vice Chairman and Partner
Actis is a leading global investor dedicated to sustainable infrastructure in growth markets, targeting critical sectors that deliver essential services and generate long-term value. The firm pursues thematic investments across Energy Infrastructure, Long Life Infrastructure, Digital Infrastructure, Real Estate, and Private Equity, leveraging deep operational expertise to build, operate, and future-proof assets while mitigating risk through sustainability-driven approaches. With an industrialist mindset, Actis seeks opportunities that align with secular tailwinds, such as the energy transition and digital transformation, and favours markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and other high-growth regions where risk-adjusted returns are most attractive.
Actis operates as a global infrastructure investor with an extensive geographic footprint spanning multiple continents and growth markets worldwide. The London-based firm focuses its investments across Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, strategically targeting high-growth emerging markets where sustainable infrastructure demand is rapidly increasing. In Asia, Actis maintains a robust presence with offices stretching from Mumbai and New Delhi to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, and Tokyo, having invested in countries including India, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Japan. The firm's Latin American operations encompass significant investments in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. Actis has established itself as sub-Saharan Africa's most experienced private equity real estate investor, with developments across Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, and South Africa, while also maintaining substantial energy infrastructure investments throughout the continent. In the Middle East, the firm has notable investments in the United Arab Emirates and other regional markets, leveraging partnerships to capitalise on the region's infrastructure diversification efforts. This comprehensive geographic scope allows Actis to invest in markets covering a large percentage of the world's population, positioning the firm to capitalise on global megatrends in energy transition, digitalisation, and supply chain transformation across diverse economic environments.
Actis focuses on a broad spectrum of sectors at the intersection of science-driven innovation and sustainability including:
Energy Infrastructure
Long Life Infrastructure
Digital Infrastructure
Real Estate
Private Equity
Actis focuses on sustainable infrastructure opportunities in growth markets, targeting sectors that provide essential services and deliver long-term, risk-adjusted returns by leveraging deep operational expertise and an industrialist mindset. The firm invests thematically across energy infrastructure, long-life infrastructure, digital infrastructure, real estate, and private equity, prioritising assets that contribute to environmental and social sustainability while mitigating risk through active ownership and value enhancement at the asset level. Investments are screened rigorously against ESG policies, including environmental, climate change, health and safety, business integrity, and social criteria, to exclude harmful sectors and ensure compliance with international standards and best practices. Actis typically enters investments with a dual focus on green assets already aligned with net-zero pathways and “olive” assets that require decarbonisation support, using its proprietary Transition Tool to identify and progress sustainable value-creation opportunities. The firm seeks partnerships with management teams capable of operational execution in complex growth markets, emphasising scalable infrastructure solutions with defensible economic models and measurable impact on communities and the environment.
Actis employs a structured, multi-stage framework to identify sustainable infrastructure investments in growth markets, beginning with thematic screening of structural themes such as energy transition, digitalisation, and long-life infrastructure. Prospective opportunities are filtered through ESG due diligence aligned with Actis’s Sustainability and Responsible Investment Policy, IFC/World Bank standards, and categorised by ex-ante ESG risk ratings (low, medium, high) with specialist advisors engaged as needed. Operational and technical diligence, leveraging Actis’s industrialist mindset, assesses management quality, feasibility, logistics, and sustainability integration to inform impact action plans and budgets. The Investment Committee reviews a consolidated memo including an Impact Assessment Score, which benchmarks expected environmental and social outcomes, before granting final approval.
Yellow Door Energy: Based in Dubai and is a leading provider of distributed solar and energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers across the Middle East and Africa. Actis acquired a controlling stake in July 2022, the company is focused on advancing the region’s low-carbon transition by expanding renewable energy adoption and reducing business reliance on fossil fuels. Visit Yellow Door Energy
Rack Centre: West Africa’s leading carrier-neutral data centre operator, hosting over 80 clients and connecting more than 40 carriers, including Nigeria’s internet exchange and all major undersea cables along Africa’s Atlantic coast. Acquired by Actis in March 2020, Rack Centre offers open, resilient connectivity and global best practices, serving as a key digital infrastructure hub for Nigeria and the wider region. Visit Rack Centre
Upstream Systems: A global mobile monetisation company that helps telecom operators in emerging markets sell additional services to their customers, with direct access to 1.2 billion consumers across 43 countries. Backed by Actis since 2014, Upstream partners with major operators like Vodafone and MTN, and continues to expand its offerings and reach in high-growth markets such as Brazil, Nigeria, and Egypt. Visit Upstream Systems
Uludag Energy: They provide electricity distribution and retail services to Türkiye’s South Marmara Region, covering Bursa, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, and Yalova. Acquired by Actis in March 2022 as its first long life infrastructure investment in Türkiye, the company is focused on enhancing customer service, adopting new technologies, and implementing strong ESG practices for long-term regional support. Visit Uludag Energy
Nozomi Energy: A Japan-focused renewables platform launched by Actis in May 2023, aiming to develop 1.1GW of onshore wind and solar power by 2027. Backed by Actis’ $6 billion energy infrastructure fund, Nozomi supports Japan’s energy transition and climate targets by delivering large-scale, sustainable energy solutions. Visit Nozomi Energy
Discover more successful investments: Actis Portfolio.
Actis operates through a multi-tiered funding ecosystem comprising institutional investors, development finance institutions, and corporate partnerships that collectively channel capital into sustainable infrastructure across emerging markets. The firm's core investor base includes pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and endowments from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, as evidenced by the recent $1.7 billion raised for its second long life infrastructure fund (ALLIF2).
The transformative General Atlantic acquisition completed in October 2024 has fundamentally expanded Actis's funding capabilities, creating a combined platform with approximately $97 billion in assets under management. This strategic combination provides access to General Atlantic's extensive institutional relationships while maintaining Actis's operational independence under its existing brand.
Development finance institutions serve as both investors and strategic partners, providing capital and credibility for emerging market infrastructure investments. The firm has successfully raised over $26 billion since inception across multiple fund series, demonstrating strong investor confidence in its growth market strategy focused on renewable energy, electricity transmission, digital infrastructure, and sustainable transportation.
Investment Stages
Actis operates primarily as a private equity investor focusing on control investments in established infrastructure assets1. The firm targets operational infrastructure businesses rather than greenfield development, with a typical investment tenor of 5 years. Actis employs buy and build strategies for electricity generation businesses and buy and improve approaches for distribution businesses.
Equity Approach
Actis exclusively uses equity instruments for investments, seeking control positions or significant minority stakes in portfolio companies. The firm has a track record of acquiring controlling stakes ranging from 71% to 100% equity positions, as seen in historical transactions like Ceylon Oxygen (71%) and recent exits like Java House (100%).
Funds & Key Developments
Recent Investments
Actis, a leading investor in sustainable infrastructure and growth markets, has established itself as a global benchmark for impact-driven investment. The firm’s impact is underpinned by its proprietary Actis Impact Score™ (AIS), a comprehensive framework that measures and monitors the positive environmental and social outcomes of all investments, ensuring alignment with global standards such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Actis’ approach is independently verified, with BlueMark’s 2025 assessment rating its impact management practices as “Advanced” across nearly all Operating Principles for Impact Management, highlighting robust systems for defining, tracking, and delivering measurable impact.
Recent impact highlights include winning the 2024 Environmental Finance Impact Award for its work with BluPine Energy in India, where Actis supported rural decarbonisation and community upskilling, directly benefiting over 130 individuals, 35% of them women with plans for further expansion. In 2025, Actis was also recognised as the best ESG investment fund for climate transition, reflecting its leadership in climate-focused strategies such as the Actis Asia Climate Transition Fund. With over $26 billion raised and a focus on sectors like renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and real estate, Actis continues to drive sustainable value creation in high-growth markets, embedding rigorous impact measurement and ESG risk management into every stage of the investment lifecycle.
Actis’s “One Actis” community connects portfolio companies across sectors and regions to share expertise, drive business development, and foster innovation. This network offers shared workspaces and operational support, bolstering resilience and collaboration, especially during crises like COVID-19. Through the Actis Acts foundation, the firm extends social impact by aligning charitable initiatives with investee companies and local partners.
Actis operates with a diverse and experienced team of approximately 330 professionals distributed across 17 global offices, spanning major financial centres in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.The firm's organisational structure is built around specialised investment sectors including Energy Infrastructure, Real Estate, Long Life Infrastructure, Private Equity, and an Investor Solutions Group, with each division supported by dedicated professionals ranging from senior partners to analysts. The team encompasses various hierarchical levels from Chairman and Senior Partners at the executive level, down through Partners, Managing Directors, Principals, Directors, and Associates, reflecting a comprehensive talent pipeline that supports both investment activities and operational functions. Beyond the core investment professionals, the organisation includes specialised platform professionals covering critical functions such as sustainability, compliance, legal, finance, business operations, talent management, and technology. This global workforce brings together professionals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, all unified by a shared commitment to sustainable infrastructure investing in growth markets, with the firm emphasising that its people capability represents a cornerstone of competitive advantage in delivering strong returns while building critical infrastructure that provides essential services.
Learn more about the team on the Actis Team Page.
Headquartered in London, the firm deploys capital across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, supported by 17 offices worldwide from Mumbai and São Paulo to Lagos and Dubai.
Every opportunity is screened with extensive ESG due diligence, measured by the proprietary Actis Impact Score™, and monitored against global standards (e.g., the IFC Performance Standards). BlueMark’s 2025 review rated its impact practices “Advanced” on nearly all operating principles.
Capital comes from pension funds, sovereign-wealth funds, insurers, endowments and development-finance institutions worldwide; recent fundraisings include US$1.7 billion for its second Long-Life Infrastructure Fund in 2025.
Key developments include the October 2024 acquisition by General Atlantic, the oversubscribed US$1.7 billion Long-Life Infrastructure Fund II close in 2025, a 100% takeover of India’s Stride Climate Investments (March 2025) and multiple Environmental Finance and ESG awards recognising its impact leadership.
Roughly 330 professionals work across specialised sector teams (Energy, Digital, Real Estate, Long-Life Infrastructure, Private Equity) and support functions such as sustainability, compliance and technology, creating a collaborative “One Actis” culture.
Are you an innovative sustainable infrastructure founder seeking funding? Discover how Actis can support your journey by visiting the Actis Website.
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