Investor Matchmaking Forum Boosts Nigeria’s Solar Power Naija Program

Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) recently held an investor matchmaking forum for the ‘Solar Power Naija’ (SPN) program with the aim of providing opportunities for prospective investors to pitch their financial offerings to the solar project developers. The event also witnessed REA signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a local investment firm, facilitating the progress of the nationwide program.

The Federal Government of Nigeria launched the N140 billion Solar Naija Program in 2021 which aims to provide five million off-grid households with solar home systems. The program is a part of the country’s Economy Sustainability Plan (ESP) and it seeks to improve access to electricity in unserved and underserved communities, leveraging solar energy.

The latest event, held in Abuja, was organized in partnership with the Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Program (PA-NPSP). It is a first-of-its-kind networking and matchmaking convention that brings together investors and top project developers in the power sector. The forum supports REA’s aim of building quick partnerships that will lead to new solar connections under the SPN program.

At the event, REA and the independent investment firm Chapel Hill Denham signed an agreement to facilitate financing to developers for off-grid solar electrification projects. The investment firm has been supporting clean energy access to the people, having raised $4.6 million for the Havenhill solar project in March 2021 and reached a $20 million refinancing agreement with the solar energy provider Starsight Energy in May 2022.

Ahmad Salihijo, Managing Director of the REA, said, the agency has been working to create an enabling environment for private developers to get investments in various ways. Along with supporting finances for developers, REA also focuses on access to data, policy support, capacity development, stakeholder management, etc., to carry on the SPN program and boost energy access in the communities.

Stephan Menard, Acting Deputy Missions Director of USAID Nigeria, said, the development agency encourages independent power developers to make use of accessing finance to improve the lives of the people by delivering clean and sustainable energy access.

According to the REA, the Solar Power Naija program is expected to increase around $15 million (~N7 billion) in tax revenues and $10 million in import substitution, annually. The program will expand energy access to 25 million Nigerians, facilitating the growth of the local manufacturing and assembly industry and creating nearly 250,000 new employments in the sector.