The financing was obtained through a fund raising in which Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NDIF) is the sole participant. The fund is providing $4.6 million in local currency (the naira) to the solar mini-grid supplier Havenhill Synergy. Part of the funds allocated by the NDIF were injected by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The funding is for the construction of 22 solar mini-grids in rural Nigeria.
The future installations will provide electricity to 70,000 people, as well as rural businesses. “These mini-grids will catalyse economic activities in host communities, serve health facilities and have a multiplier and transformative effect. I appreciate the efforts and courage of our team to solve one of the most important problems in the world today,” says Olusegun Odunaiya, Havenhill’s managing director.
The construction of the off-grid solar systems is part of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) which receives funding from the World Bank and the AfDB. To accelerate rural electrification, the REA provides subsidies to suppliers of mini grids and solar home systems.
The start-up company Havenhill, which is receiving NDIF funding to implement 22 mini-grid projects, is already well established in Nigeria, providing solar energy to households. The Abuja-based company operates several mini-grids in several villages. In Budo, in Oyo State in south-west Nigeria, Havenhill has commissioned a 100 kWp solar photovoltaic power plant that supplies electricity to 400 households and 50 businesses through a 4.92 km distribution network. The company has other installations in several communities in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
Jean Marie Takouleu