Nigerian Solar Energy Company Okra Solar has secured a $7 million debt facility from British International Investment (BII) to expand its mesh-grid electricity network in rural Nigeria, with financing expected to support about 150,000 new connections.
The facility will allow the company to purchase solar panels, batteries and other equipment in advance and in larger volumes. The move is expected to cut equipment delivery times to Nigeria from around four to two months.
The planned connections could bring power to as many as 750,000 people who currently lack reliable electricity.
The company currently serves more than 13,000 households and has over 2.3 megawatts of installed capacity. BII said the financing could help Okra increase its connections more than tenfold.
For businesses in Nigeria, access to dependable electricity could reduce reliance on petrol generators and support operations that require consistent power, including shops and food-processing businesses.
