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Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) and other clean energy companies play an essential role in strengthening rural livelihoods and building climate resilience in low‑ and middle‑income countries. By providing solar‑powered irrigation, cold storage, agro‑processing machinery and other PURE solutions, these enterprises help farmers and small businesses increase incomes and reduce losses. Yet despite their promise, most PURE companies remain stuck in early‑stage cycles and struggle to scale. Recent analysis of information from the CROWD (Crowding Support for Companies in Energy Access) Working Group highlights why these barriers exist and what the sector can do differently.
Chaired by Energy Saving Trust and EEP Africa, the CROWD working group brings together early-stage funders and technical assistance providers working in clean energy access to improve how support is targeted, sequenced and coordinated. This combined effort provides the clearest picture yet of the challenges PURE companies face on their pathway to scale.
As the sector comes together at the Vienna Energy and Climate Forum, findings from Scaling Productive Potential highlight how persistent these challenges remain. Among 127 PURE companies supported by early-stagefunders and TA providers who have come together to for the CROWD working group only 28 secured commercial investment over a five‑year period, showing how difficult it is for early‑stage companies to progress from grant dependence to investor‑ready growth. This mirrors wider trends across the off‑grid solarsector, where a USD 21 billion investment gap continues to limit progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 of universal energy access.
These insights are echoed in EEP Africa’s recent review of its legacy portfolio from 2010-2017 programme phase, which examined the conditions that helped companies advance beyond pilots, or held them back. While the contexts differ, both studies point to similar structural constraints: short grant windows, fragmented support, and limited pathways to follow‑on capital.
Fragmented early‑stage support slows company progress
Across 127 companies in the CROWD database, more than 1,100 individual support engagements were recorded. Over half of these grants lasted less than 12 months, offering too little time for companies operating in remote, low‑income markets to test and refine new technologies andbusiness models.
The EEP Africa study similarly found that early‑stage grants were critical in helping companies demonstrate proof‑of‑concept, but too often these companies hit a funding “cliff edge” after initial support ended. Funding windows were frequently short or not sequenced with later-stage opportunities, meaning many companies were left with validated pilots but without the operational history or investor visibility they needed to progress.
This lack of continuity compounds duplication. Support has been provided in silos with the different donor programs not sufficiently linked/coordinated so that they could build on previous success. Female-ledc ompanies continue to be underrepresented in support flows, even as locally owned companies capture a meaningful share of current support.
Data gaps and inconsistent reporting hinder progression to commercial capital
A common challenge is the lack of complete, comparable, long-term company data. The CROWD dataset recorded 16 different reporting formats, reflecting the inconsistency of data collection across donor programmes. Nearly 60% of companies had fewer than three years of operational history, which is too little for many impact investors, who require stable, multi‑year financial records to assess traction and risk.
The EEP Africa legacy portfolio study found that progress is rarely linear, and that companies follow different growth trajectories depending on team capacity, technology type and the continuity of support. Companies that received flexible, sequenced support, combining grants, technical assistance and investor-linked activities, were far more likely to raise follow‑on capital than those that relied on standalone grants.
The role of CROWD in strengthening coordination
CROWD offers a practical solution to these systemic issues. Through regular coordination meetings, shared data and joint analysis, the Working Group improves visibility and reduces duplication in early‑stage support.
The shared CROWD database includes:
● 1,107 support engagements
● 240 PURE support runs
● 127 PURE companies
● Over USD 46 million in funding data
This offers the clearest view yet of how early‑stage support is distributed across the sector. Shared data enables funders to reduce duplication, coordinate timelines, and identify where companies have been overlooked. Building on this, it would be beneficial to track companies beyond the period of funded support. Establishing a shared referrals and alumni tracking mechanism could ensure continuous, data‑driven support and significantly shorten the time to commercial capital.
A moment for greater alignment across the sector
Taken together, Scaling Productive Potential and the lessons from EEP Africa’s legacy portfolio study point toward several shared solutions.
1. Design fit‑for‑purpose support
Support must reflect both the company’s growth stage and its operating environment. Companies in nascent markets require patient, flexible grants with hands‑on TA, while those approaching scale need investor‑linked TA and milestone‑based instruments.
2. Strengthen feedback loops
Programmes rarely track what happens after support ends. Embedding three‑ to five‑year alumni tracking and feedback mechanisms would help funders refine future calls and improve the quality of support offered.
3. Improve coordination and transparency across programmes
Greater transparency around shared data standards, consistent reporting templates and predictable referral pathways could help make the system more navigable for companies.
4. Target resources more effectively
High-potential companies in fragile or less-visible markets often remain overlooked. More transparent eligibility criteria, flexible entry pathways and targeted outreach can broaden who benefits from early‑stage support.
By aligning around these principles, the energy access sector can help more early-stage companies progress towards commercial viability. Strengthening these foundations will help ensure more companies create real social impact.