Investment firm All On announces a $1 million investment in Salpha Energy. The Nigerian company distributes solar home systems in rural Nigeria where access to electricity is lowest.
In Nigeria, Salpha Energy is receiving new financial support to accelerate its operations in rural areas. Recently, the Lagos-based company received a $1 million investment from All On, an investment company funded by Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell. The funding will allow the solar kit supplier to expand its range and stock of equipment dedicated to electrification.
According to All On, its investment will also help expand sales channels and customer service infrastructure, and test more flexible pricing models to sustainably manage rural customers in Nigeria’s states. “All On’s contribution will strengthen a highly scalable opportunity by rapidly deploying power assets to homes in Nigeria and facilitate the adoption of a sustainable power payment culture in the Niger Delta and beyond,” the Wiebe Boer-led investment firm says.
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Salpha Energy claims 350 users consisting of individuals, cooperatives and small businesses. Its solar systems are distributed via mobile money, a cell phone payment service. To do this, Salpha Energy has signed partnerships with providers of this financial inclusion service, including InfiBranches, Paga and Interswitch.
All On’s investment complements a $50,000 financing obtained by Salpha Energy as part of the Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge. The competition, organized by All On and the U.S. Afrikans Development Foundation (USADF), aims to provide funding to Nigerian companies that are developing, scaling up or expanding the use of proven off-grid energy technologies to reach communities not served by the national power grid.
The most populous country on the African continent with a population estimated by the World Bank to exceed 206 million by 2020, Nigeria has an electricity access rate of 60% according to Power Africa. In rural areas, 66% of households still do not have access to electricity.
Jean Marie Takouleu
