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Africa: Bii Invests $20m in Acumen Fund to Expand Off-Grid Solar in Africa

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Africa: Bii Invests m in Acumen Fund to Expand Off-Grid Solar in Africa


TLDR

  • British International Investment (BII) has committed $20 million to Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) Initiative, a fund aimed at expanding access to off-grid solar power
  • The investment, made through H2R Amplify, will help provide affordable clean energy to over 50 million people across 17 countries
  • H2R Amplify has secured $123 million at first close and uses a blended finance model to attract private investors, offering impact-linked loans and receivables-backed financing

British International Investment (BII) has committed $20 million to Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) Initiative, a fund aimed at expanding access to off-grid solar power in underserved African markets.

The investment, made through H2R Amplify, will help provide affordable clean energy to over 50 million people across 17 countries, including Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. The program is expected to displace kerosene use and mitigate more than 3 million tons of carbon emissions.


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H2R Amplify has secured $123 million at first close and uses a blended finance model to attract private investors, offering impact-linked loans and receivables-backed financing to solar companies. Acumen launched the initiative with UK research and innovation support through the Transforming Energy Access platform.

The vehicle qualifies under the 2X Challenge, supporting gender inclusion in the energy sector through economic opportunities for women as customers and employees.

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Key Takeaways

The BII-Acumen partnership highlights how blended finance is being used to address Africa’s chronic electricity gap. Nearly 600 million people on the continent still lack reliable power, with electrification rates as low as 12% in some frontier economies. Off-grid solar has emerged as a scalable alternative, with companies using pay-as-you-go and receivables-backed models to expand access where national grids are limited. The $246.5 million raised by H2R to date underscores growing appetite for catalytic capital that de-risks fragile markets while unlocking commercial participation. By embedding gender-focused action plans, the initiative also addresses the disproportionate energy poverty burden carried by women, who are both primary household energy managers and an underrepresented workforce in the sector. For BII, which has pledged 30% of new commitments to climate finance by 2026, this deal signals a push into high-impact markets often overlooked by private capital, reinforcing its role as a development finance anchor investor.