Financial access

Unlocking crowd investment in the energy sector

The Crowd Power program unlocks finance from the ‘crowd’ for energy access projects in developing countries. Through the provision of small grants, Crowd Power helps crowdfunding platforms develop innovative funding and de-risking strategies for retail investors and investees, such as credit guarantees, FX hedging mechanisms and co-lending structures. Since 2015, Crowd Power has supported 255 campaigns by energy access companies, non-profits and micro-entrepreneurs, raising $5 million. Each $1 contributed by Crowd Power has leveraged $6 in private co-funding. The program has provided over 300,000 people with clean energy in 29 countries, reduced 55,000 tons in CO2 emissions and created over 120 jobs. It also produced research and analysis of renewable energy crowdfunding, P2P lending, and energy access related ICOs. 

African energy companies are actively pursuing investment and solidifying financial backing thanks to GET.invest Finance Readiness Support, a European program that Energy 4 Impact is part of. The service provides hands-on business development advice and coaching to early-stage, micro-, small- and medium-sized energy companies on their fundraising journey in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. To date, the program has supported over 420 companies, with 176 projects attracting private investment, representing a total projected investment volume of about €2.7 billion. This could provide energy access to 19.7 million people and reduce 5.3 tons of CO2 annually. A total of 87 projects announced financial close, a testimony to the growing maturity of renewable energy markets in partner countries.

Our Financial Inclusion for Clean Cooking in Rwanda and Sierra Leone (FICCARS) program enables women living and working in informal settlements to purchase modern and clean cooking solutions on credit. This not only alleviates the labor and health risks of cooking with biomass, but also helps women build their credit history. This means they have a better chance of accessing the loans and services they need to transition out of poverty. Through this program, we aim to support 8,000 women to access appropriate financial products for clean cooking and beyond. Projecting that 30% of participants will go on to access additional financial services, we expect that 400 will start, improve or expand an income-generating activity, and 600 jobs will be created for women in the clean cooking value chain.