Renewable energy firms prepare for innovation through supports from finance institutions
Solomon Ezeme
The renewable energy sector in Nigeria has continued to enjoy supports from both international and local financial institutions, in terms of funding. These funds are for facilitating growth and development in the sector through easy access to financing and equipment procurement.
One of the most recent of such funds is the $10 Million Financing Facility provided by International Impact Investment Company, All On, and the Global Energy Alliance for People.
In an exclusive chat with EnergyDay on Thursday, solar energy company, AllBase Energy, explained that the recent $10m facility, like many others from which Nigeria renewable companies are benefiting from, will help create competitiveness and bring about innovation in the industry.
Brand and Marketing Communications Manager of the company, Falade Adebanke said: “The $10-million financing facility is a welcomed investment especially in the light of the global supply chain issue caused by covid-19 and other factors.
“I believe that this facility will enable and encourage people to join, and also bring about innovation in the sector and it will also allow existing renewable energy companies to scale and employ much -needed talent.
“Over the years, renewable energy companies that meet the criteria set by these organizations, have been accessing and will continue to access funding to scale and provide power to homes and businesses around Nigeria.”
Adebanke stated that the various financial supports coming from these financial institutions have contributed to the progress of the sector, including in the area of capacity building and business expansion.
“A lot of new connections of solar home systems, mini-grids, solar street lights have been installed due to funding from these different organizations.
“For instance, with the funding we accessed from All On and US African Development Foundation (USADF), we have witnessed a 1500% growth in systems deployed from inception,” she said.
All On in conjunction with the Global Energy Alliance for People, had on November 23 announced the provision of the $10-million facility meant for renewable energy companies in Nigeria to reduce production cost, thereby helping end-users of solar solutions purchase at affordable prices.
The All On DART (Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology) program was also initiated in conjunction with Odyssey Energy Solutions which is to supervise the project.
The company, on Wednesday in an interview on Arise TV, gave further details on the procurement program.
Senior Investment Associate at All On, Goziem Okubor who spoke on behalf of the company, during the interview, said that the objective of the program is to enable developers in the industry through technology and innovation, and be able to take advantage of economies of scale.
He explained that various solar companies can merge to apply for the facilities so as to procure equipment they may not be able to get as individual firms.
He noted that the program will eventually improve energy access in the country, in terms of renewables.
“The program is designed to help renewable energy developers in Nigeria to create and maintain economies of scale and ultimately aggregate procurement of equipment and thereby bring down the cost of solar systems for end-users of renewable energy products in Nigeria.
“That’s the simple message and mission behind what we are trying to do with the DART program.
“All On is an impact investor, so we directly finance renewable companies.
“And in this sort of mechanism, we are launching and managing the finance facility.
“The DART program is simple: you have aggregated procurement; you also have equipment financing, to finance the upfront cost of procuring equipment from tier 1 suppliers and then bringing them down into Nigeria,” Okubor said.
