• Acumen secures $246.5M to expand energy access in Africa

• H2R blends loans, equity, and grants for fragile markets

• Aims to reach 70M people across 17 sub-Saharan countries

Investment platform Acumen announced on Tuesday that it has secured $246.5 million for its Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) initiative, a program designed to expand access to clean energy in 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The effort aims to provide electricity to nearly 70 million people.

The funding is structured in two parts. H2R Amplify, a debt vehicle that provides impact loans, has secured $189.5 million, with $123 million already raised from a first close. The loans are intended to help companies scale their business models in fragile markets. H2R Catalyze has $57 million and combines equity, debt, grants, and technical assistance to support companies that are creating new markets.

This blended finance model brings together a coalition of partners including the Green Climate Fund, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Shinhan Bank, British International Investment, the Soros Economic Development Fund, and the Nordic Development Fund. The initiative seeks to address the persistent lack of suitable capital for areas with low electrification rates, such as Malawi (16%), Burkina Faso (22%), and Sierra Leone (36%), according to the World Bank.

“At a time when many are pulling back, this coalition is stepping up with capital designed not just to invest, but to solve,” said Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen’s founder and CEO. “This is the first time public, private, and philanthropic partners have come together behind a model built to reach the hardest-to-reach.”

The announcement follows a series of recent commitments by Acumen in Africa. In January 2025, the platform provided a $500,000 grant to Husk Power to launch its first solar mini-grids in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few months prior, the H2R initiative had invested $2 million in Yellow Malawi to equip 182,000 people with solar home systems. More recently in September, Acumen confirmed its commitment to a sustainable African economy with the launch of its second KawiSafi fund, a $90 million vehicle aimed at supporting climate-resilient solutions.

Abdoullah Diop