The Federal Government has launched a $300m fund to increase access to electricity through mini-grids, solar systems and other off-grid renewable energy projects across Nigeria.
The Nigeria Distributed Renewable Energy Fund is being managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Africa50, with support from development partners including Sustainable Energy for All and the World Bank.
The fund is designed to attract both public and private investment into renewable energy projects serving communities, households and businesses that have limited or no access to the national electricity grid.
The commercial launch was announced by the partners on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, marking the move from the fund’s development stage to actual investment deployment.
The World Bank has committed an initial $25m through the International Development Association, representing about 8.3 per cent of the fund’s targeted $300m capital.
NSIA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the launch showed that Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy market was ready to attract investment and operate on a larger scale.
He said the fund would help create opportunities for investors while supporting the expansion of electricity services beyond the conventional grid system.
The initiative is expected to finance projects including mini-grids and standalone solar installations, particularly in areas where extending the national grid may be difficult or costly.
Africa50 Group Chief Executive Officer, Alain Ebobissé, said the partnership combined NSIA’s knowledge of the Nigerian market with Africa50’s investment expertise and the energy-access experience of Sustainable Energy for All.
He said the model could help turn Nigeria’s electricity needs into investment opportunities while providing a structure that could be expanded to other African countries.
World Bank Group Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, said reliable and affordable electricity was important to job creation and economic growth across Africa.
She said the bank’s $25m contribution was aimed at helping bridge the gap between development funding and private investment while supporting new electricity connections.
The Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, Damilola Ogunbiyi, said the fund would contribute to Nigeria’s electricity access goals and the wider Mission 300 initiative, which seeks to provide electricity access to 300 million people across Africa by 2030.
The partners said the fund would use public and development financing to attract additional private-sector capital, helping renewable energy developers overcome difficulties in securing long-term funding.
The initiative is expected to support Nigeria’s efforts to expand electricity access while increasing the use of cleaner energy sources and reducing dependence on traditional power infrastructure.
The International Solar Alliance Director General, Ashish Khanna, described the Nigerian fund as an early country-level example under the Mission 300 financing framework and said its structure could provide a model for similar investments in other African markets.
The partners said the fund could expand beyond its initial $300m target and provide a financing model for scaling distributed renewable energy projects across the continent.
