Impact investment firm Acumen has raised $246 million to extend electricity access to some of Africa’s most underserved communities, launching a new phase in the continent’s off-grid energy transition. Announced during New York Climate Week 2025 (Sept 21-28), the Hardest-to-Reach Initiative aims to finance off-grid solar deployment across 17 African countries where electrification rates remain among the lowest in the world, applying lessons learned from mature solar markets like Nigeria and Kenya to frontier contexts still trapped in energy poverty.
The fund targets a fundamental inequity at the heart of Africa’s energy story. Across sub-Saharan Africa, roughly 600 million people, nearly half the population, still lack access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. Within that figure lies an even harder reality: rural areas in fragile or low-income states where grid extension remains decades away and diesel generators dominate, despite their cost and environmental toll. Acumen’s initiative explicitly zeroes in on these markets, deploying flexible capital to unlock solar-based alternatives that can be scaled commercially.
Acumen’s Chief of Strategic Initiatives, Jiwoo Choi, said the model is built on nearly two decades of experience financing solar startups. “The technology is available, it’s affordable,” she noted. “What remains difficult is distribution, getting solar kits into the hands of people living in the least accessible areas. That’s the challenge we’re trying to solve.”
The initiative is structured around two vehicles: a $189 million debt facility to provide working capital and scale-up financing for off-grid energy firms, and a complementary $57 million blended-finance fund combining debt, equity, and grants to help build markets and support early-stage enterprises. Among the fund’s backers are the Green Climate Fund, British International Investment, the International Finance Corporation, and commercial players such as South Korea’s Shinhan Bank, signaling growing confidence in solar as a viable route to electrification.
While the financing structure itself is innovative, the development logic is clear: decentralized renewables now offer the fastest, most cost-effective path to universal access in Africa. Research by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) shows that distributed solar systems can meet over 60% of rural Africa’s energy needs at lower lifetime costs than extending national grids. Moreover, falling photovoltaic module prices, global averages declined by over 80% since 2010, and the rise of mobile money payments have made household-level solar affordable and scalable.
Choi and her colleagues emphasise that solar is not a luxury but an economic imperative. “The cost-effectiveness of solar is better than diesel,” she said, pointing to savings on fuel and maintenance. Solar systems paired with small batteries allow households to power lights and appliances at night, while daylight-only systems are proving transformative for irrigation, water pumping and small-scale agro-processing, reducing vulnerability to erratic rainfall and improving food security.
The numbers bear out the trend. Data from energy think tank Ember show that Africa’s solar panel imports from China surged 60% in the past year, signaling a rapid expansion of supply chains even in frontier markets. In countries such as Malawi, Niger, and Sierra Leone, where national electrification rates are below 30%, off-grid companies are beginning to fill a structural void left by slow-moving utilities.
Acumen’s initiative also aligns with the Mission 300 partnership spearheaded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, which seeks to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. During the same Climate Week, 17 African countries under the Mission 300 umbrella unveiled their national energy compacts, frameworks outlining specific targets, policy reforms, and investment priorities to accelerate electrification. Acumen’s capital will act as catalytic support, helping translate these blueprints into tangible solar installations and local enterprise growth.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that Africa needs around $35 billion annually in energy investment to achieve universal access by 2030. Current commitments hover around $10 billion, leaving a substantial gap. Choi acknowledged this pressure candidly: “It’s not going to be easy at all. It’s going to be a lot of work.” However, Acumen’s approach, combining debt, equity, and grant funding, is designed precisely to bridge the risk tolerance gap between public institutions and private capital.
For African policymakers, the Energy access remains the foundation of inclusive growth and climate resilience. Studies from the World Bank and Oxford University show that reliable power can raise household incomes by 30% and boost local enterprise activity by up to 40%. Off-grid solar companies like M-KOPA in Kenya and d.light in Uganda have already demonstrated how pay-as-you-go business models can expand access without subsidy-heavy grid projects. The Hardest-to-Reach Initiative seeks to replicate those outcomes in less mature markets such as Chad, Madagascar, Liberia, and the Central African Republic, where institutional gaps, logistics, and affordability constraints have kept solar adoption marginal.
Critics of renewables often cite intermittency or cost, but the data continue to favour solar for access expansion. The US Department of Energy notes that the sunlight hitting Earth’s surface in just 90 minutes could power the world for a full year, an illustration of potential, not constraint. And unlike fossil fuels, distributed solar sidesteps import dependence and price volatility, offering both economic and geopolitical resilience.
Acumen’s initiative also dovetails with Africa’s climate adaptation agenda. By replacing kerosene and diesel, solar systems lower emissions, reduce indoor air pollution, and free up household income for education and healthcare. In rural Africa, where energy poverty intersects with gender inequality, access to clean, affordable power also means time saved for women and girls who spend hours gathering fuel or studying under unsafe lighting.
Read also: Canva pledges $100M for unconditional cash to boost local economies through cash in Malawi
Acumen’s $246 million raise thus signals more than just another investment vehicle. It represents a shift in mindset, from incremental pilots to structural change. If successful, the initiative could bring electricity to tens of millions across the 17 targeted nations, transform rural economies, and demonstrate that off-grid solar is not a fringe technology but a mainstay of Africa’s development and climate resilience strategy.
