U.S. Development Finance Corporation invests $10m in Nithio FI to Scale Clean Energy Financing in Africa

The financial institution and agency of the United States federal government The Development Finance Corporation (DFC), has invested $10m in Nithio FI, to scale clean energy financing in Africa’s ecosystem.

The investment forms part of FSD Africa Investments and EDFI-ElectriFI’s first round of $23 million in Nithio.

Nithio was founded in 2018, the startup provides energy financing platform powered by a proprietary AI-enabled risk analytics engine.

Nithio leverages its innovative approach to standardize credit risk assessments to enable lending access for solar energy startups, empowering them to provide energy access for millions of households in Africa

So far, Nithio has invested in four high-impact off-grid solar and microfinance institutions in Kenya and Nigeria, including VEP, Rafode, Winock, and A4&T Power Solutions.

Bobby Pittman, Nithio Co-Founder and Founding Partner at Kupanda Capital speaking on the fudning said it will enable Nithio’s further impact on African businesses.

“Nithio has created an innovative, data-driven solution that fills a large gap in the market to sustainably scale capital flows to the clean energy sector.

“By standardizing credit risk, Nithio’s investments will have an outsized impact towards achieving universal energy access and combating the effects of climate change,”.

Nithio is focused on providing solar energy for powering homes, businesses, and agricultural activities through its data-driven financing to impact more than 3.5 million people by 2025 and drive climate change adaptation efforts in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.