MIGA backs CrossBoundary with $495m guarantees for African energy expansion

• MIGA’s US $495 m guarantee package will help CrossBoundary Energy deploy 100+ distributed solar, wind and battery projects in 20 African countries over 15 years.

The World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has inked a US $495-million, 15-year guarantee framework with Mauritius-based CrossBoundary Energy Holdings (CBE), unlocking capital for more than 100 distributed renewable-energy and storage projects across up to 20 African countries. The guarantees—issued at platform level rather than deal-by-deal—aim to accelerate solar, wind and battery installations that power mines, telecom towers and factories from Senegal to Zambia.

The programme shields investors from currency-inconvertibility and transfer-restriction risks, two of the biggest obstacles to scaling clean power in emerging markets. Up to US $61.5 million of first-loss cover will come from the IDA Private Sector Window to support projects in 11 low-income nations and four fragile or conflict-affected states, while the Renewable Energy Catalyst Trust Fund will back ventures in middle-income markets such as Egypt, Kenya and South Africa. 

CBE says the portfolio approach will let it deliver reliable, cheaper electricity to commercial and industrial clients that currently suffer chronic outages. Recent examples include a solar-plus-battery system for Sierra Leone’s first 5G network and Madagascar’s inaugural wind farm for Rio Tinto’s QMM mine, both of which cut diesel use and CO₂ emissions while boosting productivity. 

The MIGA safety net dovetails with fresh financing: Standard Bank of South Africa has arranged a US $60-million subordinated loan—part of a wider plan to mobilise up to US $300 million in senior debt—to fund a 223-MWp solar-storage plant that will power the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By pairing guarantees with commercial lending, CBE can scale faster and attract a broader pool of investors.

Founded in 2015, CBE has already channelled more than US $153 million into 36 projects totalling 100 MW. The new framework marks its biggest step yet—and one of MIGA’s largest distributed-energy deals—promising thousands of jobs, stronger grid resilience and a meaningful dent in Africa’s 75 % business-outage rate.