KawiSafi, the energy transition, clean transportation, and nature-based carbon solutions investor across Africa, has secured $90 million for its second fund to invest in climate solutions across Africa.
Managed by Acumen, the global impact investor building markets to solve poverty, KawiSafi fund II has $90 million in approved capital, including $40 million in committed capital, for its for-profit investment strategy.
“Securing $90 million for a successor KawiSafi fund is a major milestone and a signal to the market: capital can and must flow toward a more inclusive, low-carbon future,” said Amar Inamdar, Managing Director of the KawiSafi funds. “We are backing the entrepreneurs who are building scalable business models that turn climate challenges into growth opportunities across Africa.”
Anchor investors include the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), the Green Climate Fund, the Schmidt Family Foundation, and Quadrature Climate Foundation.
KawiSafi II follows the predecessor KawiSafi fund, a $67 million clean energy fund launched in 2016. KawiSafi fund will provide catalytic equity financing to businesses that build low-carbon pathways to economic resilience in underserved communities. Fund II is channelling capital toward businesses that combine capital appreciation with measurable climate impact.
Climate change disproportionately affects Africa. The continent is home to the majority of the world’s poorest people and receives only 6 percent of global investment flows, while climate shocks, including droughts, floods, and rising seas, could push an additional 100 million people into poverty worldwide.
Fund II supports business models addressing these structural risks. The fund targets use cases such as distributed renewable energy, resilient mobility, clean cooking, and access to carbon finance. It builds on lessons from its predecessor while expanding into new sectors and technologies.
This milestone comes at a pivotal moment in Africa’s energy transition. Expanding access will require investment beyond traditional grids and infrastructure to reach communities historically excluded from energy systems. Fund II is responding by deploying capital to African-based entrepreneurs who are building the foundation of a low-carbon future.
“The KawiSafi funds show that distributed clean energy solutions can drive Africa’s energy transition and economic transformation,” said Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Acumen. “This milestone brings together years of learning, a coalition of committed partners, and the local insight needed to scale climate solutions where they are needed most.”
In Somalia, half the population has no electricity, and those who do often pay around 65 cents per kWh—double the highest rate paid by U.S. consumers. These typically diesel-powered systems are expensive, unreliable, and carbon-intensive. Yet Somalia has over 310 sunny days per year, which is enough to meet most of its energy needs. However, uptake remains low due to high costs and weak infrastructure, which is exactly where patient, catalytic capital can make a difference.
In June, Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach initiative invested $1 million in KIMS Microfinance, the largest microfinance institution in Somalia, to support the scaling of its off-grid solar financing activities. This investment is anticipated to bring energy access to 17,000 people and reach 440 businesses and large households with productive-use energy, helping to facilitate local economic activity.