Private equity firm Lightrock has launched a new $500 million clean energy fund aimed at supporting growth-stage businesses expanding access to affordable and sustainable energy across Africa and Asia.
This is according to a statement reported by Bloomberg on Friday.
The fund, known as Accelerate7, will focus on companies operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, targeting sectors such as electricity access, clean cooking solutions, electric mobility, and energy storage technologies.
The development highlights growing investor interest in clean energy infrastructure across emerging markets, where energy access gaps and rising demand for sustainable solutions continue to attract global capital.
What the company is saying
Lightrock said the new fund is designed to address the persistent equity financing gap facing clean energy businesses in emerging markets.
- The Accelerate7 fund will invest between $10 million and $50 million in growth-stage companies.
- Investors in the fund include Equinor ASA, Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE, and LGT Group.
- “Accelerate7 is investing at the intersection of infrastructure and growth equity, or infra growth equity, targeting businesses that provide essential infrastructure or enabling services,” Lightrock CEO Pal Erik Sjatil said.
- “The fund is specifically designed to bridge the equity gap in emerging markets, focusing on United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7: affordable and clean energy,” said Ademidun Edosomwan, partner and head of energy access at Lightrock.
Get up to speed
Africa and parts of Asia continue to face major energy access deficits despite growing demand for electricity, cleaner cooking technologies, and low-carbon transportation systems.
The clean energy sector has increasingly attracted private capital as governments and development institutions push for energy transition investments across emerging economies.
- Lightrock was spun out from Liechtenstein’s LGT Group, the private banking and asset-management firm linked to Liechtenstein’s royal family.
- The new strategy focuses on “infra growth equity,” combining infrastructure investment with growth-stage private equity.
- Singapore-based investment firm TRIREC will support deployment of the fund in Southeast Asia.
- The fund has already invested in four companies: SolarSquare, Sun King, Euler Motors, and ATEC Global.
The launch of the Accelerate7 fund demonstratees rising global investor confidence in clean energy opportunities across Africa and Asia.
What you should know
In September, the European Union (EU) unveiled a €545 million package to scale up renewables investment in Africa.
The €545 million package expands the EU and Team Europe’s clean energy efforts in Africa, with new projects supporting electrification, modernising power grids, and improving access to renewables.
In November, AfDB approved a $500 million loan to the Federal Government of Nigeria to finance the second phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme.
The bank also approved a $100 million loan to the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF) to boost sustainable infrastructure development across Africa.
