Energy 4 Impact’s research programme Crowd Power examines the role of alternative finance in growing the energy access sector with a particular focus on crowdfunding. Equity crowdfunding only represented a small fraction of energy-access related crowdfunding volumes from 2015 to 2020, but accelerated in 2020 and the first half of 2021, raising a record $11.2 million. This research shows that equity crowdfunding has the potential to make a significant contribution to the equity financing gap faced by early-stage companies in the energy access sector, and explores the associated market, regulatory and policy considerations as well as the potential roles of donors to support this alternative finance channel for energy access companies.