From: Mercom India
CrossBoundary Access, a company that finances and operates distributed renewable energy projects across Africa, has secured a $10 million equity investment.
The funding was provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that focuses on private sector development in emerging markets.
The IFC joins CrossBoundary Access’s existing investors, which include ARCH Emerging Markets Partners, Bank of America, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.
The investment was enabled through financing from the Global Energy Alliance, a blended finance facility supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Together, these investments are expected to support the construction and expansion of the company’s portfolio, which includes mini-grids, battery-as-a-service projects, and adjacent technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“This investment builds on the support of the investors and partners who backed CrossBoundary Access from the beginning. Their commitment helped demonstrate that mini-grids can be financed on a scale. IFC’s investment marks another important step toward unlocking the capital needed to bring electricity to millions more people across Africa “, said Gabriel Davies, Managing Director at CrossBoundary Access.
The latest investment will support projects with partners including Ignite Energy Access and Mobile Power in Nigeria, and ANKA in Madagascar. The company said the investment will also allow it to explore new partnerships in other Sub-Saharan African markets.
CrossBoundary Access is said to provide power to over 170,000 people in Nigeria and Madagascar with an operating portfolio of over 4 MW of PV solar and 8.5 MWh of battery storage.
Global VC funding for the solar sector in Q1 2026 came to $1.1 billion in 17 deals, a 21% decrease YoY compared to $1.4 billion raised in 14 deals in Q1 2025, according to Mercom’s Q1 2026 Solar Funding and M&A report. Funding increased 74% QoQ compared to the $606 million raised in 20 deals in Q4 2025.
In March, Amarenco, an independent power producer, secured a €130 million (~$150 million) preferred equity tranche from its long-standing shareholder Arjun Infrastructure Partners. The facility will be used to accelerate its growth in European markets.
