The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (OGEF), an Africa-focused fund providing debt financing to companies in the household energy access sector, has reached a first close with US$58 million in capital commitments. Investors in the fund, which will be managed by investment advisory and asset management group Lions Head Global Partners, include development finance institutions the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nordic Development Fund and the Global Environment Facility, as well as impact investing firms Calvert Impact Capital and All On. The fund is part of the AfDB-sponsored Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), a US$500 million debt platform meant to catalyze capital markets’ support for energy access strategies. OGEF will provide mainly local currency lending to off-grid energy distributors, equipment manufacturers and end-user credit providers.