Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative Powering Livelihoods Using Solar (PEII+)

PEII+ is a 5-year, $25 million dollar initiative that will invest early-stage capital in companies that provide renewable energy-powered appliances–from mills and irrigation pumps to electric motorbikes and refrigerators–to microentrepreneurs and smallholder farmers in India and East and West Africa. Building on Acumen's 15 years of experience investing in energy access businesses that tackle poverty, Acumen is doubling-down on the role productive uses of energy play in creating thriving resilient livelihoods powered by affordable, income-generating, clean energy products and services. To help Acumen’s current and new pioneer energy investees to achieve their growth potential, post-investment support will be provided to each company. PEII+ investees will also engage in a 60 Decibels Lean Data project to measure how they are performing against various impact benchmarks and to generate valuable insights to inform business strategy, product design, affordability, and customer service over time. To increase the visibility of local entrepreneurs working at the nexus of energy access, agriculture, and poverty, PEII+ plans to develop two Acumen Academy accelerators to support the next cohort of locally-led enterprises in India and East Africa and increase their investment readiness. Lastly, as done under the first PEII, Acumen plans to share key lessons learned and insights from its portfolio. Acumen will continue to bring together stakeholders across the energy and agriculture ecosystems to amplify successful models, facilitate cross-learning and partnerships, de-risk the PUE investment ecosystem, and share its learnings.