The International Finance Corporation (IFC), backed by the government of Canada, has invested $5 million in Husk Nigeria to boost access to clean, reliable energy across underserved parts of Northern Nigeria.
Disclosed in Lagos on Thursday, the funding will support the deployment of up to 108 solar hybrid mini-grid sites, providing electricity to an estimated 115,000 people and businesses.
The move is aimed at tackling one of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges: access to electricity.“This initiative underscores IFC’s commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions through strong partnerships between the private sector, governments, and development institutions,” said Ethiopis Tafara, IFC’s regional vice-president for Africa.
The investment is the first under the $200 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) platform, launched in November 2024. It complements the $750 million World Bank-funded Nigeria DARES Project, both aimed at electrifying over 17.5 million Nigerians.
Husk’s solar hybrid mini-grids are positioned as a cleaner and cheaper alternative to diesel generators, offering users at least 25% in energy cost savings and a significant cut in emissions.Manoj Sinha, Husk’s co-founder and CEO, described the investment as a model for growth:
“This innovative debt facility is exactly what the minigrid industry needs to scale — blended, long-term and affordable capital.”The $5 million IFC funding includes a $2.5 million senior loan from its own account and a $2.5 million concessional subordinated loan from the Canada-IFC Renewable Energy Programme for Africa.
Structured as a revolving loan, it allows Husk to repay and redraw funds during implementation.Olu Aruike, country director of Husk Nigeria, emphasized the impact: “Adding 108 new communities to our minigrid portfolio with IFC support is an important step toward our goal of deploying at least 250MW of decentralised renewable energy projects in Nigeria.”
The DARES platform also champions gender inclusion, productive energy use, and job creation—especially for women and women-led MSMEs—while contributing to the broader Mission 300 initiative, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
