NSIA to Raise $24 Million Fund for ‘Solar Power Naija’ Electrification Program in Nigeria

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has partnered with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to invest an amount of 10 billion Naira (~USD 24 million) in funding for the growth in the renewable energy sector. The investment aims to deploy more than 200,000 solar home systems across Nigeria, under the ‘Solar Power Naija’ program.

NSIA, which manages Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, has put a step forward in renewable energy investment in the country by financing developers for assembly and deployment of the solar home systems. The ‘Solar power Naija’ initiative is in line with the Nigerian government’s Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) under the supervision of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The REA under the Ministry of Power will be providing technical and advisory support to NSIA for running this program.

The ‘Solar Power Naija’ program was launched to provide electricity access to 5 million households, benefitting 25 million people in rural areas and underserved urban communities nationwide. The program is expected to catalyze over 500,000 off-grid systems by 2023, creating 20,000 jobs in the production, assembly, and installation process of the systems.

Ahmad Salihijo, the Managing Director of REA, said, “We believe this investment commitment as approved by the NSIA board is a harbinger for increased investments in the off-grid renewable space that will help Nigeria achieve its goals under COP 26 and eliminate the electrification gap in the country.’’

Uche Orji, MD/CEO of the NSIA, said his institution continues to prioritize climate-smart infrastructure to create access to affordable electricity for underserved communities of Nigeria, especially in rural areas where nearly 60% of people still lack access to electricity.

“NSIA recognizes the latent potential in these communities and believes that access to power is fundamentally important to enhancing the capacity of SMEs in these communities to support the economic growth of the country and employment creation,” Orji said.

According to NSIA, the fund would be accessible to the qualified developers as approved by Nigerian Electrification Program (NEP), under the existing REA and World Bank scheme that provides grants for developers to participate in off-grid electrification projects.