Click to watchImpact investor Acumen has raised $246.5 million for a blended finance programme designed to expand clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa’s most underserved markets.
The initiative, called the Hardest-to-Reach (H2R), pools capital from DFIs, private financiers, and philanthropic backers, including the Green Climate Fund, IFC, British International Investment, and South Korea’s Shinhan Bank.
H2R targets 70 million people across 17 countries, with a focus on low-electrification regions such as Malawi and Burkina Faso. It is structured around two vehicles: H2R Amplify, a $189.5 million debt facility offering impact-linked loans to growth-stage companies, and H2R Catalyze, a $57 million flexible instrument providing equity, grants, concessional debt, and technical assistance to early-stage ventures.
Amplify has already recorded a first close of $123 million, while Catalyze has been active since early 2024. The model follows a familiar blended finance playbook: use concessional, risk-tolerant capital to de-risk early investments, then bring in larger commercial funding once operational traction is proven.
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Click to viewShinhan Bank’s participation shows the private sector’s appetite to sit alongside DFIs in higher-risk transactions. Still, off-grid and mini-grid developers continue to face high upfront costs, fragile currencies, and long procurement cycles. Measuring social outcomes tied to loan terms also adds operational complexity.
For observers, the key metrics will be the pace and terms of deployment, the number of power connections delivered per dollar invested, repayment performance on Amplify loans, and how much private capital follows. Evidence that H2R’s technical assistance is building lasting local capacity will be equally critical.
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