NSIA launches $300m fund for renewable energy

— Targets investment in mini-grids, standalone solar systems

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

ABUJA — The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, has launched a $300 million Nigeria Distributed Renewable Energy, DRE, Fund to accelerate private-sector investment in renewable energy and expand electricity access to underserved communities and businesses.

The Fund reached its commercial launch milestone on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, marking the transition from fund structuring to active capital deployment in Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy sector.

The initiative is being implemented through a partnership between NSIA, Africa50, Sustainable Energy for All, SEforALL, and the World Bank, with the International Solar Alliance supporting the broader continental initiative.

The Fund will finance distributed renewable energy solutions, including mini-grids and standalone solar systems, as Nigeria seeks to close its electricity access gap, strengthen energy security and support productive economic activities.

Speaking on the launch, NSIA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, described the initiative as a strategic signal to investors and development partners that Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy market was ready for investment at scale.

“This is a major development milestone. It is a strategic signal to markets, investors, governments and development partners that Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy market is investable, credible and ready to operate at scale,” he said.

Umar-Sadiq said the commercial launch would move the initiative from fund structuring to the deployment of capital in renewable energy projects across the country.

The initiative is aligned with Nigeria’s national development priorities and Mission 300, the African initiative targeting electricity connections for 300 million people by 2030.

Chief Executive Officer of Africa50, Alain Ebobissé, said the partnership behind the Fund was one of its major strengths, combining NSIA’s knowledge of the Nigerian market with Africa50’s pan-African investment and fund-management capabilities.

He said SEforALL brought energy-access expertise to the platform, while the World Bank provided global energy-sector leadership and catalytic financing.

“What sets the Nigeria DRE Fund apart is the strength of the partnership,” Ebobissé said, adding that the initiative was designed to turn Nigeria’s energy needs into investable opportunities and develop a model that could be scaled across Africa.

Also speaking, SEforALL Chief Executive Officer and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, Damilola Ogunbiyi, said the commercial launch represented an important step towards achieving Nigeria’s electricity-access ambitions and advancing Mission 300.

She said the dedicated financing mechanism demonstrated how country-led initiatives could translate the continental electricity-access target into concrete investments and electricity connections.

The Fund comes amid growing deployment of distributed renewable energy to serve communities and businesses that remain outside, or are inadequately served by, conventional electricity infrastructure.

Mini-grids and standalone solar systems have increasingly been used to extend electricity supply to rural and underserved communities and provide power for small businesses and other productive activities.

Director-General of the International Solar Alliance, Ashish Khanna, described the Fund as a landmark initiative under the Mission 300 platform, particularly for its potential to demonstrate how innovative financing structures could mobilise private capital for distributed renewable energy.

Khanna said the Nigerian platform could serve as a model for other African countries seeking to establish country-level investment vehicles for private-sector-led renewable energy deployment.

For the World Bank, the Fund provides an opportunity to combine development finance with private capital to address Africa’s energy-access deficit.

Managing Director of Operations, World Bank Group, Anna Bjerde, said reliable and affordable electricity was critical to job creation and economic transformation across Africa.

She said the World Bank was a founding partner of the initiative, noting that its initial $25 million International Development Association, IDA, contribution demonstrated its commitment to mobilising finance and supporting electricity connections across the continent.

The Nigeria DRE Fund is co-managed by Africa50 and NSIA and is also designed to support the emergence of African distributed renewable energy companies.

The sponsors said the Fund would help mobilise capital at scale, develop local markets and demonstrate how public and development finance could attract larger volumes of private investment into clean energy.

Nigeria is the first country-level demonstration linked to the broader continental financing platform, with stakeholders expecting the initiative to provide lessons for other African countries seeking to accelerate renewable energy investment and expand electricity access.