Acumen launched has launched its Pioneer Energy Investing Initiative with a $5 million grant from the IKEA Foundation.
The initiative is seeking to catalyze private investment in off-grid energy by backing early-stage energy companies. “Ecosystem support” and technical assistance will help startups overcome the immaturity of the market and lack of access to resources.
Acumen already has invested $20 million in 18 off-grid energy companies, including d.light and M-Kopa.
More than 1.2 billion people worldwide live without access to electricity. Expanding often unreliable grids is expensive and slow, spurring an explosion of off-grid solutions.
Acumen hopes the pioneer energy investment initiative will help eight million people get access to energy by 2026.
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