How Energise Africa is unlocking energy access and productive use across sub-Saharan Africa
Expanding access to clean, reliable energy is fundamental to powering economic opportunity, improving livelihoods and enabling productive use across sub-Saharan Africa. At Energise Africa, we believe that achieving this at scale requires innovative approaches to mobilising private capital for clean energy projects, while managing risk in a way that builds investor confidence.
Since launching in 2018, Energise Africa has enabled UK-based individual investors to directly fund African-led clean energy companies through our regulated investment platform. To date, over USD 60 million has been invested into solar home systems, green mini-grids and other clean energy solutions across the continent. This track record demonstrates a growing appetite among UK retail investors for impact investments that deliver both financial and social returns.
Blended finance to scale impact
A key driver of our approach is blended finance. In April 2025, Energise Africa extended its partnership with ARE Member CEI Africa, securing an additional EUR 2.5 million in match funding to be deployed alongside investments from UK retail investors on our platform. This institutional capital helps to mitigate risk, unlock additional private investment and increase the total funding available to experienced clean energy developers.
One example of this model in action is OnePower Benin, a green mini-grid developer delivering clean, reliable electricity to underserved rural communities. Through two bond offers on the Energise Africa platform, OnePower raised USD 970,000, with a further USD 420,000 to follow, supported by USD 1.5m of CEI Africa match funding. This financing enables the construction of nine solar-powered green mini-grids, providing clean energy access to more than 4,700 households and small businesses in rural Benin, reducing CO₂ emissions and supporting households, businesses and community services to unlock productive use.
Addressing the Results-Based Finance funding gap
As Results-Based Finance (RBF) programmes expand across Africa, they are accelerating clean energy deployment. However, they also create a critical challenge: developers must purchase equipment, reach milestones and commission projects before grant funds are released, creating significant working capital constraints.
To address this bottleneck, Energise Africa is launching a bespoke RBF-backed working capital loan product for Green Mini-Grid developers and Solar Home System and Productive Use Equipment distributors operating in sub-Saharan Africa.
These secured loans are designed to bridge the pre-RBF funding gap and enable faster, more effective deployment. Key features include security over RBF grant capital and equipment, funding of up to 80% of total RBF grants, loan sizes of USD 500,000 – USD 3 million, tenors of 12–24 months, and flexible repayments structured in line with RBF cashflows.
By combining institutional capital, structured security and retail investor participation, this product strengthens our ability to support scalable, high-quality clean energy and productive use projects.
Energise Africa has now raised over USD 60 million in debt funding for African clean energy businesses. As energy access and productive use opportunities continue to grow, we remain committed to partnering with developers, distributors and investors to power possibility and strengthen clean energy markets across sub-Saharan Africa.
Developers and distributors interested in exploring eligibility are invited to complete our Pre-Qualification Questionnaire at energiseafrica.com/raise.