Acumen, an impact investment firm, announced during New York Climate Week that it has raised 246m for its 'Hardest-to-Reach Initiative'.
The fund is designed to finance efforts to expand electricity access in 17 African countries that have some of the world's lowest levels of electricity access.
Jiwoo Choi, chief of strategic initiatives at Acumen, says the initiative is focused on delivering off-grid solar power as a solution to the electricity gap in these countries. Acumen has been financing off-grid solar since 2007, she tells African Business with the Hardest-to-Reach Initiative, it is seeking to apply lessons learned in countries like Nigeria and Kenya to countries where the technology remains nascent today.