- CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) receives funding from ARCH, Bank of America, and Microsoft to deploy mini-grids in Africa.
- CBEA will deploy $150 million over the next two years to accelerate clean energy in Africa.
CrossBoundary Energy Access (CBEA) has disclosed a USD 25 million in new funding commitments from ARCH Emerging Markets Partners Limited, Bank of America, and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. The investment will influence an additional $25 million in senior debt to deploy $50 million of capital into CBEA’s near-term pipeline of solar-powered mini-grids.
According to the announcement, CBEA will provide USD 150 million over the next two years to deploy clean energy to one million people in Africa. The mini-grids combine solar and batteries to provide 24/7 grid-quality power to households and businesses. This initiative will enable individual local residential and small business subscribers to access renewable electricity.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the solar mini-grid sector needs $187 billion to achieve universal energy access by 2030. CBEA believes project finance is key to unlocking the long-term, infrastructure-type capital that the mini-grid sector needs. CBEA first pioneered its blended project finance structure in 2019 with funding from Rockefeller Foundation, Ceniarth, DOEN Foundation, Shell Foundation and UK Aid.