Bank of America, Microsoft support African solar mini-grid financing platform

CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA), Africa’s first project financing facility for mini-grids and a direct investment platform of the CrossBoundary Group, has secured USD 50 million (EUR 47.7m) of capital for its near-term pipeline of solar mini-grids.

CBEA said in a statement that it has attracted USD 25 million in new funding commitments from ARCH Emerging Markets Partners Limited, Bank of America and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, which it intends to mix with an additional USD 25 million in senior debt.

“Our investors believe the mini-grid sector is ready to scale and that 2022 will mark an inflection point in its growth. Work is still needed on every aspect of mini-grids including regulation, business model, and subsidy programs. But we’re excited by the step change in scale and pace that we’re seeing from developers, investors, regulators, and donors, and we’re encouraged by the amount of capital the sector is prepared to absorb in the next 24 months,” said Gabriel Davies, Managing Director and Head of Energy Access at CrossBoundary.

In total, CBEA plans to deploy USD 150 million over the next two years to bring clean energy to one million people in Africa. The projects it supports benefit both households and businesses.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.955)

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