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London-headquartered investment platform Lightrock has announced the launch of Accelerate7, a dedicated investment strategy following the final close of a $500 million fund. The Accelerate 7 is aimed at backing businesses that advance United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), such as universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy.
Accelerate7 will invest in growth-stage companies across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, with a typical initial ticket size ranging from $10 million to $50 million. The strategy targets three core sectors: Access to Electricity, Clean Cooking, and Enabling Technologies and Solutions such as electric mobility and energy storage.
Established as an independent global investment platform in 2021, Lightrock operates at the intersection of growth, technology and impact, with the firm’s investments aiming to generate financial as well as measurable social and environmental returns. The platform currently advises $5.8 billion in assets and supports more than 90 portfolio companies, with a team of over 130 employees spanning approximately 30 nationalities worldwide.
Deployment in Southeast Asia will be supported by Singapore-headquartered TRIREC, operating in partnership with Lightrock to further Accelerate7’s mission. The fund has already made four investments: SolarSquare, a rooftop solar system provider; Sun King, an off-grid solar energy company; Euler Motors, an electric vehicle manufacturer; and ATEC Global, an IoT-enabled clean cookstove provider.
Accelerate7 is backed by a group of leading investors and major energy corporations, including Equinor, Shell, TotalEnergies, and LGT, among others.
The fund is designed to address a stark development challenge. Over 660 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity, while approximately 2.1 billion people rely on polluting or hazardous fuels for cooking. The firm describes this as a dual crisis that continues to constrain economic and social progress across the Global South.
Each Accelerate7 portfolio company will report regularly on its impact performance, and will benefit from Lightrock’s proprietary impact measurement and management approach, complemented by support from a dedicated technical assistance facility, specialist impact and value-creation professionals, and Lightrock’s advisor network.
“Our focus is on finding proven operators with resilient business models that can deliver both meaningful impact and long-term value,” said Ademidun (Demi) Edosomwan, Partner and Head of Energy Access at Lightrock.
With the launch of Accelerate7, Lightrock’s capital dedicated to energy transition, energy access, and climate investments now totals approximately $2 billion, representing a significant share of the firm’s assets under advice.
Pål Erik Sjåtil, CEO and Managing Partner, said, “It builds on our broader commitment to supporting businesses at the forefront of energy transition and access, while bringing together the strength of our network, our investment expertise, and the conviction of our partners.”
