Acumen gets $247m for Africa’s remote markets

From the newsletter

Global investor Acumen has finalised a $247 million blended finance capital raise, dedicated to scaling clean energy solutions in the continent's most remote regions. Combined with a $90 million fund announced earlier this month, Acumen has now secured a total of $337 million to tackle the continent’s energy access challenge.

• Africa is projected to receive only 2% of global clean energy investment in 2025. This is largely due to financial challenges such as currency depreciation and rising interest rates.

• Blended finance (a mix of public, private and philanthropic capital) is emerging as a viable financing model. The sector has attracted at least $4 billion this year, according to the Renewables Rising funding database.

More details

• The Hardest-to-Reach Initiative is one of Acumen's most ambitious projects to date. The $246.5 million figure includes $189.5 million in approved capital for H2R Amplify and $57 million committed to H2R Catalyse. The initiative aims to reach people in 17 countries, including 50 million who currently have no access to electricity.

• Investors include the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as well as private institutions like Shinhan Bank and philanthropic groups like the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF). This mix of partners provides both the scale and the different types of capital needed for the initiative to succeed.

• As of mid-2025, approximately 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, representing nearly half the continent's population. Most of them are in remote areas extending beyond the grid. Some of the most affected countries are Sudan, Chad, Burundi, and Malawi, among others.

• Most of Africa's clean energy funding has historically gone to utility-scale projects, such as large power plants and grid infrastructure. While these are vital, they often fail to reach the most remote, rural populations where grid extension is prohibitively expensive and logistically complex.

• The type of funding that comes to the sector is varied, but debt instruments increasingly dominate it. This is partly due to investor preferences for lower risk and a more predictable return profile. While useful for scaling, a reliance on debt can expose companies to currency risks and interest rate fluctuations, particularly for smaller enterprises. When commercial funding is available, it often comes with high interest rates, making it expensive for local projects. 

• Acumen's pivot acknowledges that a single grid-centric approach is insufficient. A mix of solutions, including off-grid and mini-grids, is required to meet Africa's diverse energy needs. Other blended finance vehicles on the continent include Zafiri, Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), and Octopus Energy Generation.

• The Hardest-to-Reach initiative has already deployed over $10 million to support seven companies expanding clean energy in underserved markets. Investments include local currency financing in Malawi to tackle currency risks, an impact-linked loan to scale solar lighting in Zambia, and Sharia-compliant debt with technical support in Somalia. Alongside funding, Acumen provides grants to build local capacity and strengthen energy ecosystems.

Our take

• By leveraging blended finance models, Acumen is setting a forward-looking precedent for reducing investment risks and attracting diverse capital to underserved markets where traditional funding falls short.

• The success of the Hardest-to-Reach Initiative may also encourage other investors and development actors to adopt blended finance as a mainstream approach to power off-grid and mini-grid solutions across the continent.

• Ultimately, if Acumen’s approach could catalyse a shift away from grid-centric models toward a diversified energy ecosystem that effectively connects Africa’s hardest-to-reach populations to clean power. This would contribute significantly to closing Africa’s persistent energy gap, boosting economic development, and achieving climate goals simultaneously.