London-headquartered Lightrock has launched Accelerate7, a $500 million fund aimed toward backing companies increasing entry to vitality and clear cooking options throughout rising markets.

The fund will spend money on growth-stage corporations in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, with preliminary investments starting from $10 million to $50 million.

Accelerate7 will give attention to sectors together with electrical energy entry, clear cooking, electrical mobility and vitality storage. Deployment in Southeast Asia shall be supported by Singapore-based TRIREC, which is partnering with Lightrock on the technique.

The fund has already invested in SolarSquare, Solar King, Euler Motors and ATEC International.

Greater than 660 million folks globally nonetheless lack entry to electrical energy, whereas round 2.1 billion depend on polluting or hazardous fuels for cooking, in line with SDG7 information cited by the corporate.

Commenting on the investment, Ademidun “Demi” Edosomwan, associate and head of vitality entry at Lightrock, mentioned: “Throughout the International South, entry to dependable vitality and trendy cooking options stays one of many clearest drivers of financial alternative and improved high quality of life.”

He added, “With Accelerate7, we’re backing companies which have already demonstrated robust execution and are able to scale. Our focus is on discovering confirmed operators with resilient enterprise fashions that may ship each significant affect and long-term worth.”

Whereas Pal Erik Sjatil, Managing Associate & CEO at Lightrock mentioned, “The launch of Accelerate7 is a crucial milestone for Lightrock, and a robust instance of how our platform continues to evolve. It builds on our broader dedication to supporting companies on the forefront of vitality transition and entry, whereas bringing collectively the energy of our community, our funding experience, and the conviction of our companions. We’re grateful for the belief positioned in us and excited to associate with impactful companies as they work to develop entry to trendy vitality and clear cooking options.”

The fund is backed by traders and vitality corporations together with Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor and LGT. With the launch, Lightrock mentioned its capital devoted to vitality transition, vitality entry and local weather investments now totals about $2 billion.