By Taiye Olayemi
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and Odyssey Energy Solutions have inaugurated a financing facility aimed at accelerating electricity mini-grid deployment across Nigeria.
This is according to a statement by BII in Lagos, on Wednesday.
According to the statement, this new facility was coming at a critical time, as Nigeria ramps up its mini-grid ambition under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) programme, backed by the World Bank.
The statement said with DARES endeavouring to improve energy access for 17.5 million Nigerians, the demand for streamlined procurement and innovative financing was more urgent than ever.
It said the new facility had the potential of scaling up to meet the demand generated by the DARES programme by partnering with a growing network of qualified developers and suppliers.
The statement noted that these sort of partnerships would accelerate project execution and reduce time for electrification.
The statement reads, “With $7.5 million funding from BII, the facility leverages Odyssey’s proprietary procurement platform and supply chain credit solution to support mini-grid developers.
“The finance will be deployed to support Nigeria’s DARES programme, backed by the World Bank, which aims to improve energy access for 17.5 million Nigerians.
“Specifically, Odyssey works to bridge the gap between commitment and disbursement of DARES connections-based subsidies by addressing the financing bottleneck of upfront costs such as acquiring equipment and import duties.
“Through this offering, developers can procure high-quality solar and energy storage equipment with minimal upfront capital, paying back as projects reach revenue-generating milestones.
“This provides some key benefits for Nigerian solar companies including competitive pricing through aggregated procurement; flexible payments, improving working capital, faster procurement cycles and accelerating deployment timelines.
“It will also provide end-to-end logistics support, from customs to last-mile delivery and high-quality, vetted equipment, ensuring system reliability.”
The British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr Jonny Baxter, said that BII had demonstrated its confidence in Nigeria’s clean energy sector through its strategic investments.
“This is a signal that opportunities for the private sector to drive forward the renewable energy revolution in Nigeria and across Africa are growing.
“UK finance is playing a pivotal role by helping to unlock green growth and establish Britain as a credible global partner on climate action in line with our Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) with Nigeria,” Baxter noted.
Also, Benson Adenuga, West Africa Regional Director at BII, said that about 90 million people in Nigeria did not have access to electricity.
“Mini-Grids powered by clean and affordable energy sources have a vital role to play in rapidly reducing that number.
“I am delighted that BII is partnering with Odyssey to accelerate the development of such projects.
“BII has demonstrated a progressive and practical approach to unlocking financing challenges in distributed energy,” Adenuga said.
Piyush Mathur, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Odyssey Energy Solutions said, “Their support allows us to offer flexible, affordable financing options that meet developers where they are.
“This ensures that we can collectively accelerate electrification across Nigeria.”
