H2R's energy access investment coalition strengthens with a new $7.8 million commitment to its debt fund from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Acumen, a global impact investor building markets to solve poverty, announced today its Hardest-to-Reach Initiative (H2R) secured a total of $250 million in blended capital to expand clean energy access across sub-Saharan Africa, reaching its target raise. The latest milestone includes the final close of H2R Amplify, the initiative's scale-focused debt fund, at $180 million, supported by a new $7.8 million commitment from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), alongside $18 million in complementary grant capital that will be used to provide impact-based rewards to borrowers.
Launched at COP28 and anchored by the Green Climate Fund, H2R is Acumen's most ambitious energy effort to date. The initiative aims to reach nearly 70 million people across underserved geographies in sub-Saharan Africa, including 50 million first-time energy users in markets where traditional capital has not been able to operate. H2R combines a patient capital, market-building facility, Catalyze, with a scale-focused debt fund, H2R Amplify. Together, the two vehicles are designed to unlock clean, affordable, distributed energy for households across 17 countries, including Malawi, Zambia, and Somalia.
"The commitment from SDC and the full close of Amplify mark an important moment for Hardest-to-Reach," said Jiwoo Choi, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Head of the Hardest-to-Reach Initiative at Acumen. "Over the past two years, we brought together partners who aligned behind one goal: to unlock energy access to the most remote and vulnerable areas. Moving from an announced strategy to fully committed capital gives us the foundation to carry this work forward with clarity and purpose."
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation joins H2R Amplify
The close includes a new commitment of nearly $8 million from SDC, whose participation helped unlock the fund's final close. SDC's participation reflects the agency's long-standing focus on expanding access to affordable, reliable energy, strengthening resilience in fragile contexts, and supporting inclusive economic development for vulnerable populations.
"We are pleased to join Acumen in the coalition of funders backing the Hardest to Reach Initiative and playing a catalytic role towards the final close," said Christian Frutiger, Head of Thematic Cooperation and Vice-Director at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation."Expanding access to clean and affordable energy is central to SDC's priorities for climate and development cooperation. H2R aligns perfectly with our commitment to strengthening resilience, supporting local development, and fostering clean energy access through market forces in regions that are often overlooked, thereby shifting the narrative from a grant to an investment logic."
A coalition designed to reach fragile markets
H2R's partner coalition brings together philanthropic, development, and commercial institutions committed to solving structural gaps in access to clean energy.
Catalyze is supported by partners including the Green Climate Fund, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Osprey Foundation, the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access platform, Cazenove Capital, Good Energies Foundation, and several individual philanthropists and high-net-worth supporters.
Amplify's investors include the Green Climate Fund, International Finance Corporation, Shinhan Bank, British International Investment, Soros Economic Development Fund, Nordic Development Fund, Signify Foundation, and ImpactAssets. SDC now joins this group at final close.
Fully capitalized and ready to advance H2R's mission
The final close of Amplify marks a significant milestone for H2R, building from Acumen's September announcement of the fund's first close. This fundraising was also recognized by the African Solar Industry Association, which named H2R the 2025 Deal of the Year at its December ceremony in Accra, Ghana.
The final close and recent achievements strengthen the initiative's trajectory and reinforce the premise that reaching last-mile customers in high-risk markets requires capital structured for complexity, local conditions, and sustained partnership. With the platform now fully operational, H2R is prepared to deepen its work with enterprises, strengthen local energy ecosystems, and advance the next phase of its ambition to reach millions of first-time energy users.
About Acumen
Acumen is a global impact investor focused on tackling poverty by backing entrepreneurs and innovators in underserved markets. Founded in 2001 by Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen uses patient capital and moral imagination to build sustainable businesses that serve the poor. It has improved more than 500 million lives and continues to push the frontier of how capital can serve long-term social change. Learn more at Acumen.org.
About SDC
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is the agency for international cooperation of Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). SDC's mandate is to alleviate poverty around the world, to foster respect for human rights, to promote democracy and to conserve the environment. One of SDC's working modality is to partner with private sector actors to jointly deliver development results and create impact for the SDC's target beneficiaries. In this context, SDC provides catalytic first-loss capital to promising impact-first investment funds aligned with its priorities on a selective basis.
Media Contact
Alex Davis, Acumen, 1 3479816863, [email protected], https://acumen.org/
SOURCE Acumen
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