Access Bank launches Switch-to-Solar campaign
Ilenre Irele
Access Bank has launched its ‘Switch to Solar by Access’ campaign to provide affordable financing opportunities to businesses and customers to adopt a cleaner and more reliable source of electricity through solar photovoltaic, PV, and batteries.
Unveiling the campaign, the Group Head of Consumer Banking at Access Bank, Njideka Esomeju, said it was in alignment with the bank’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainable development.
She said: “In alignment with our commitment to social responsibility and sustainable development, Access Bank Retail banking aims to promote cleaner energy solutions within our communities.
“Recognising the critical role that renewable energy plays in reducing carbon footprints and fostering environmental sustainability, we are launching a targeted initiative to facilitate the acquisition of solar power products through flexible financing options with the Switch to solar product.
“We launched the initiative, which ensures that each household can have solar energy to reduce costs for them, provide cleaner energy and the product will be financed by the bank.”
She stated that the bank had collaborated with vendors across the country who sell solar products.
“We are collaborating with them to ensure that these are obtained at a good rate. We aim to ensure that all households, commercial businesses and industrial factories are powered by solar,” she said.
Speaking on the bank alignment to ESG, the Regional Sales Director of Access Bank, Bolarinwa Animashaun, said the switch-to-solar was born based on engagement with customers of the bank.
“We needed to assist them to provide alternative ways to power their operations. We all know the cost of the tariff of electricity”, he said.
He added that the bank is contributing to the Economic; Social and Governance, ESG, seventh goal that was adopted by the United Nations as this specifically aligns it with a global brand.
Group Head, W Initiative, Access Bank, Abiodun Olubitan, in her contribution, said that the bank is considering women and women-led businesses in accessing the product.
She added that the bank’s commitment towards gender empowerment is to inspire, connect and empower women and the product will be given to women at a discounted interest rate, as this will enable them to run their businesses on any scale that they want.
Olubitan stated: “We are trying to ensure that this product is also positioned to women’s reach. The beauty of it is that we are not just ensuring that we have a clean environment, this is also our way of empowering women.”
Olubitan said that one of the major target markets for switch-to-solar was underserved, saying that the population was probably 60 percent women.
According to her, Switch to Solar by Access campaign will enable businesses to access up to N50m and individuals N10m for the financing of solar photovoltaics, batteries and inverters, along with installation, with a competitive interest rate, a flexible repayment period of up to 48 months and as low as 10 percent equity contribution on invoice value.
Unit Head, Consumer lending , Access bank , Thelma Luke Nwoye in her contribution to the objective of the campaign said: “We want to take this awareness in collaboration with our partners to the doorstep of every community around us, one individual at a time and one cluster at a time. We also plan to educate people about the benefit of solar energy and its impact on environmental sustainability.”
