Yemisi Izuora
The private-sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), has extended a $10 million equity investment to CrossBoundary Access, a blended-finance platform specializing in decentralized energy solutions.
According to the company, CrossBoundary Access will use the proceeds to continue deploying its asset portfolio across sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on solar mini-grids and battery storage systems.
The company will also use the capital to support the expansion of projects with Ignite Energy Access and Mobile Power (MOPO) in Nigeria, as well as with ANKA in Madagascar. In addition, the investment will help the company pursue new opportunities in other African markets.
“We currently provide electricity to more than 170,000 people in Nigeria and Madagascar, and these funds will help us move closer to our goal of electrifying 1 million people,” said Humphrey Wireko, Chief Executive Officer of CrossBoundary Access.
The transaction strengthens CrossBoundary Access’s financial capacity as the company expands its footprint in Africa’s off-grid energy sector. The company’s recent investments include a $20 million partnership with Madagascar-based developer ANKA. The partners announced the initiative in 2025 with the objective of providing electricity to more than 62,000 people.
In January 2026, CrossBoundary Access also acquired a holding structure that owns four operational solar mini-grids in Madagascar. Those assets provide a combined 1.7 MW of solar generation capacity and 5.6 MWh of battery storage capacity.
Meanwhile, the latest investment comes at a time when limited equity financing remains one of the main barriers to mini-grid development across Africa.
In its report, Financing Electricity Access in Africa, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that stronger access to long-term equity financing represents one of the most important mechanisms for accelerating the deployment of mini-grids and off-grid solar systems across the continent.