The winners of the 2018 joint All On – United States African Development Foundation (USADF) Off-Grid Energy Challenge were announced today at the Nigerian Off-Grid Energy & Innovators Summit 2018 held at the All On Office in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Off-Grid Energy Challenge is a joint effort by the U.S. African Development Foundation(USADF) and All On to develop, scale-up or extend the use of renewable off-grid energy technologies to reach communities not served by existing power grids.
Through the Challenge, USADF provided $50,000 in seed capital while All On provided up to $50,000 in convertible debt to selected energy enterprises.
In addition to funding, the winners will also receive technical assistance from USADF and governance support from All On.
“We are proud to partner with All On to foster the growth of local enterprises to bring power and connectivity to underserved Nigerians,” says C.D. Glin, USADF’S President & CEO.
“This partnership combines grant capital with private sector funding to support the selected Nigerian energy enterprises with the means to grow their businesses, increase access to power, and change people’s lives.”
According to Dr. Wiebe Boer, the CEO of Nigeria-based All On, an off-grid energy impact investment company backed by Shell, “The biggest challenge hindering Nigeria’s economic and social development is access to energy. These off-grid energy companies are introducing innovations that will improve household livelihoods and local economies by providing affordable power to unserved and underserved communities. We are proud to partner with USADF to provide an innovative blend of financing to these companies to enable them to scale up and meet the increasing demand.”
The recipients in the mini-grid category are Havenhill, Prado, Solmenz, A4&T, and Darway Coast. The enabling business category includes Auxano, Eastwind, and Alyx.
Creeds and iKabin emerged as the recipients in the solar home system category.
According to Chuka Umezulora, CEO of Auxano, a company that assembles solar panels locally, “with the award of this blended finance, Auxano is poised to raise its daily production to more than 100 panels and double its staff strength to meet the rising demand. Beyond the financial relief that came with this funding, it has also exposed us to global best business practices as we continually improve in the way we conduct our business daily.”
Hannah Kabir of Creeds, a solar home system company, said, “the USADF-All On funds will facilitate the scale up of our lease-to-own standalone solar systems to over 100 SMEs in Plateau and Rivers states, with affordable instalment repayments. By transitioning to standalone solar systems, SMEs save up to 50% on daily fuel spend on generators, which can be channeled into growing their business and productive activities.”
“Congratulations to the winners and organizers of the 2018 Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge,” said Damilola Ogunbiyi, Managing Director/CEO Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
“This is a remarkable initiative that demonstrates what we already know – that private sector taking a solution-driven role is the only way to provide sustainable power solutions for Nigerians. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is currently replicating this model of private sector driven power projects through the Nigerian Off-Grid Electrification Strategy.”
The All On-USADF collaboration to co-finance innovative Nigerian off grid energy companies is a three-year partnership to seed up to 30 companies in the country over the period.
The application window for the 2019 edition of the challenge will open in mid-January 2019.
