Yellow Malawi raises $2 million investment from Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) initiative to provide energy access for 182,000 people.
The fund will enable the company to expand its inventory purchase of solar home systems and allow 182,000 people to receive energy access, including 145,000 expected to access energy for the first time.
The first $1 million tranche will be disbursed in US dollars, with repayments in Malawian Kwacha, supported by a TCX EU Market Creation Facility subsidy to lower hedging costs, while the second tranche will be disbursed and repaid in US dollars. This reduces FX risk and supports Yellow Malawi’s sustainable growth.
Maya Khonje-Stewart, Yellow Malawi Co-Founder, acknowledged that the partnership with Acumen enables the company to reach even more Malawians who deserve clean, affordable, and reliable energy access.
Malawi is reportedly one of the least electrified countries in the world, with 11% of the population connected to electricity, 42% in cities and only 4% in villages.
As she puts it, “Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach initiative understands the unique local context and has designed financing that not only meets our needs but also advances our mission to bring energy to those who need it most.
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“The innovative structure addresses critical risks to our business and customers in Malawi and will allow us to reach more households with reliable and clean energy solutions.”
About Yellow Malawi
Founded in 2018 by Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, Yellow Malawi is a solar home system and mobile phone distributor that provides energy access to off-grid and rural customers in Malawi. It has served over 530,000 customers with energy and 62,000 people with smartphones.
In June 2023, the company closed $14 million in Series B funding to launch digital and financial products. It intended to use the funds to expand its presence in its current markets, including Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Madagascar, while preparing for additional debt funding rounds to accelerate its expansion.
Moreover, the Acumen H2R is a $250 million initiative designed to activate clean energy markets in 16 underserved regions in Africa. The targeted countries are Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
H2R uses a variety of financial instruments to invest in off-grid solar companies that work to provide energy access to underserved homes.
Alongside Yellow Malawi, the initiative has also invested $1.25 million in RDG Collective, an off-grid solar distributor in Zambia to fund its inventory purchase of solar home systems, enabling 66,000 people to receive energy access.
The investment will also allow for the purchase of solar generators, which will provide 180 small businesses with a reliable and clean source of energy while also generating income and supporting local economic development.
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