Acumen Fund Inc

INVESTMENT FOR PEACE - GDA ACUMEN USAID

S HARDEST TO REACH’S COMPLETE THEORY OF CHANGE, ACCOUNTING FOR ACTIVITIES, OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES OF THE MARKET SUPPORT FACILITY (MSF) AND MARKET EXPANSION FACILITY (MEF). USAID/POWER AFRICA’S SUPPORT THE MSF, THOUGH BOTH FACILITIES ARE NEEDED TO CREATE THE TARGETED IMPACT OF THIS FUND. THE HARDEST-TO-REACH ENERGY ACCESS INITIATIVE AIMS TO DELIVER ENERGY ACCESS TO 72.4 MILLION LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS IN THE LEAST DEVELOPED AND MOST CLIMATE-VULNERABLE COUNTRIES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. HARDEST-TO-REACH WILL PROVIDE IMPACT-LINKED CAPITAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO INCENTIVIZE OFF-GRID SOLAR COMPANIES TO EXPAND INTO NEW, MORE DIFFICULT MARKETS, BUILD SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PLATFORMS, AND SCALE UP. INVESTEE COMPANIES WILL THEN PROVIDE SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCTS TO LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS VIA PAY-AS-YOU-GO MECHANISMS, PROVIDING MANY PEOPLE WITH FIRST-TIME ACCESS TO MODERN ENERGY. BY DELIVERING FLEXIBLE PATIENT CAPITAL AND TARGETED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, HARDEST-TO-REACH AIMS TO ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH OF OFF-GRID SOLAR COMPANIES IN FLEDGLING MARKETS, AND THUS… ¿ ACHIEVE GREATER INSTALLED RENEWABLE ENERGY CAPACITY ACROSS UNDERSERVED SUB-SAHARAN COUNTRIES THROUGH MARKET CREATION, BLENDED FINANCE, AND PARTNERSHIPS; ¿ SO THAT OFF-GRID SOLAR BUSINESSES BECOME SUSTAINABLE, INVESTABLE, AND CAN PROVIDE CLEAN ENERGY ACCESS TO LOW-INCOME PEOPLE IN HARD-TO-REACH AREAS; ¿ THEREBY BENEFITING CUSTOMERS THROUGH ENHANCED ENERGY SECURITY, INCREASED AND DIVERSIFIED INCOME SOURCES AND STRENGTHENED RESILIENCE AND ADAPTIVE CAPACITY, WHILE REDUCING CO2 EMISSIONS THROUGH THE TRANSITION TO CLEAN AND CLIMATE RESILIENT ENERGY. ACTIVITIES AND TIMELINES ACUMEN’S 10-YEAR HARDEST-TO-REACH ENERGY ACCESS INITIATIVE WILL MOBILIZE AN INNOVATIVE BLEND OF CONCESSIONAL FINANCE TO DELIVER MUCH-NEEDED INVESTMENT INTO THE REGION, CONTRIBUTING TO CLOSING THE ENERGY ACCESS GAP IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA BY PROVIDING APPROXIMATELY 72.4 MILLION PEOPLE WITH CLEAN, CLIMATE-RESILIENT, OFF-GRID SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCTS. HARDEST-TO-REACH WILL ESTABLISH TWO SEPARATE FINANCING FACILITIES WITH DIFFERENT INVESTMENT RISK PROFILES, AND INVEST WITH DIFFERENT FORMS OF CAPITAL TO MATCH THE NEEDS OF OFF-GRID SOLAR COMPANIES AND MARKETS. THIS WILL HELP THEM TO EXPAND IN NEW GEOGRAPHIES AND EXTEND THEIR REACH TO UNDERSERVED SEGMENTS, THUS ACHIEVING A SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE SCALE WITH CROSS-CUTTING CLIMATE IMPACTS. EXPECTED OUTCOMES THE INVESTMENTS DEVELOPED, FINANCED, AND ACCOMPANIED BY HARDEST-TO-REACH WILL PROVIDE: ¿ ~72M PEOPLE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WITH YEAR-ROUND ACCESS TO CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE AND MODERN OFF-GRID SOLAR ENERGY. ¿ ~120MW OF NEWLY-INSTALLED, DECENTRALIZED SOLAR ENERGY GENERATING CAPACITY ACROSS HARDEST-TO-REACH GEOGRAPHIES. ¿ ~54M PEOPLE WITH FIRST-TIME ENERGY ACCESS AND IMPROVED CLIMATE RESILIENCE THROUGH DECENTRALIZED SOLAR INFRASTRUCTURE. ¿ ~5M PEOPLE WITH IMPROVED CLIMATE RESILIENCE THROUGH DIVERSIFIED INCOME SOURCES ENABLED BY FIRST-TIME ACCESS TO A SOLAR-POWERED PRODUCT. ¿ ~1.6M PEOPLE WITH IMPROVED CLIMATE RESILIENCE THROUGH ENHANCED ENERGY SECURITY ENABLED BY FIRST-TIME ACCESS TO A PORTABLE AND DURABLE SOLAR-POWERED PRODUCT. ¿ 5.1M TCO2E IN EMISSIONS REDUCED OR AVOIDED. ¿ IN ADDITION, SOME 12,000 CLEAN ENERGY JOBS, WITH 4,000 AS SOURCES OF EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN. MOREOVER, ACCESS TO ENERGY FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WILL CONTRIBUTE TO: 1) POSITIVE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT: ENERGY ACCESS (TIER 1 AND ABOVE) IS LINKED TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS SUCH AS BETTER EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND, FOR 13% OF ENTRY-LEVEL SOLAR HOME SYSTEM (SHS) CUSTO