In Nigeria, solar-powered mini-grids are increasingly popular for electrifying rural areas. This solution will be financed to the tune of $11 million by All On. This investment company, owned by Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, has joined forces with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), a global partnership that aims to mobilise $100 billion over 10 years to accelerate the deployment of renewable energies in developing countries.
The $11 million funding will support 11 solar mini-grid projects as part of the Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technologies (DART) programme launched by All On. This initiative “enables small-scale developers to benefit from group purchasing, which translates into lower unit costs for solar equipment. It also solves the problem of the availability of foreign currency, by reducing the bottlenecks encountered by developers”, explained Caroline Eboumbou, CEO of All On, at a workshop to launch the programme.
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According to her, DART offers additional benefits such as a streamlined procurement process, accelerated deployment of off-grid assets and access to affordable finance for developers. The programme launched in 2021 also provides the opportunity for performance-based grants and other commercial funding options for electricity access providers.
All On thus confirms its commitment to the electrification of Nigeria. The Lagos-based investment company is one of the main financial partners of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP). This World Bank-backed initiative aims to accelerate electrification in rural areas. Currently, 90 million Nigerians still do not have access to electricity, according to a report published in 2022 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division and the World Bank.
Jean Marie Takouleu