Energy 4 Impact’s research programme Crowd Power examines the role of alternative finance in supporting the growth of the energy access sector with a particular focus on crowdfunding. Accounting for an average of 16% of total investment volumes from 2018 to 2021, crowdfunding, particularly through debt-based models, has become an important source of financing in the energy access sector. The research highlighted in this report shows that energy access projects raised $61.5 million on crowdfunding platforms in 2021, making it a record year for energy access crowdfunding.