In Nigeria, nine off-grid providers now have funds to deploy their electricity access solutions. The winners of the 2019 edition of Nigeria Off-Grid Energy have just received an investment of US$100,000 each from the American Foundation for African Development (USADF) and All On. “Up to US$50,000 per selected company will be provided in the form of convertible debt from All On; as well as a capital grant of US$50,000 from USADF for each winner,” the two institutions said at the initiative of the competition. Start-ups will also benefit from technical assistance from the USADF, an independent agency of the US government created by Congress to support and invest in African-owned and -led businesses. They will also be able to rely on management support from All On.
Among the winners of the third Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge are Allbase Global Technology, Ashdam Solar Company, Covenant Plus Engineering, Green Acres Microfinance Bank, Reeddi Technologies, Salpha Energy, Solarworld Alternative Energy Resources, Sunhive and Vesselnet Integrated Services. These start-ups offer off-grid energy solutions covering solar, wind, hydro, biomass and gas technologies. “The funding will enable us to purchase and distribute solar home systems to communities in the Niger Delta,” said Sandra Chukwudozie, Managing Director of Salpha Energy. With funding from USADF and All On, AllBase Energy will also provide high-quality, low-cost, carbon-free distributed solar energy systems to underserved households and micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos State, “giving users the comfort and power to work harder,” enthuses Kunle Odebunmi, CEO of AllBase Energy.
USADF and All On plan to support more green projects in Nigeria. On January 15th, 2021, the two entities announced the official opening of the Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge 2021. The Rockefeller Foundation will also support this programme whose applications are expected by February 28th, 2021. “To date, the competition has awarded funds to 24 companies for a total of $2.4 million in mixed financing. This year, the competition portfolio is $2,000,000. This will allow 20 additional green businesses to receive funding, each worth $100,000,” says the USADF.
Inès Magoum