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Pledge
CrossBoundary Energy Access raises $25 million to finance solar-powered minigrids in Africa
CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) has raised $25 million from ARCH Emerging Markets Partners, Bank of America, and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund to finance the development of solar minigrids in Africa.
Image: ARESS
This investment will build upon an additional $25 million in senior debt to deploy $50 million of capital into CBEA’s near-term pipeline of solar-powered minigrids.
The Rockefeller Foundation, Ceniarth, DOEN Foundation, Shell Foundation, and UK Aid provided initial funding. The fund was established in 2019 and expects to invest $150 million in solar projects over the next two years.
The minigrids will combine solar and batteries to provide 24/7 grid-quality power to households and businesses. This initiative will enable residential and small business subscribers to access renewable electricity for the first time. The solar-powered minigrids will help to bridge the gap by bringing clean electricity to rural areas of Africa that do not presently have access to electricity.
About 75% of the world’s population lives in Sub-Saharan Africa, which lacks access to power. South Sudan, Burundi, Chad, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Tanzania are among the world’s least electrified countries and might benefit from sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the solar minigrid sector needs $187 billion of investment to achieve universal energy access by 2030. CBEA believes project finance is key to unlocking the long-term, infrastructure-type capital that the minigrid sector needs. CBEA first pioneered its blended project finance structures in 2019 with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, Ceniarth, DOEN Foundation, Shell Foundation and UK Aid.