BII backs Okra with $7m to accelerate clean energy

British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, on Tuesday announced a $7m debt facility to Okra, a provider of mesh-grid technology for off-grid communities.

The investment is expected to accelerate access to reliable and clean electricity, primarily in Nigeria. Nigeria has one of the world’s largest electricity access deficits, with an estimated 90 million people lacking reliable and affordable power.

BII’s financing will enable Okra to procure equipment for approximately 150,000 new connections, with the potential to provide electricity to 750,000 people in rural Nigeria for the first time. With Okra’s current installed base at more than 13,000 households and over 2.3MW of installed capacity, the facility is expected to enable the company to achieve more than 10x its connections.

The investment addresses a key barrier to scaling distributed renewable energy: access to flexible working capital to procure equipment. By enabling Okra to purchase manufacturing inputs upfront and in greater volumes, the facility will help reduce equipment costs and shorten delivery times to Nigeria from four months to approximately two months.

The British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr Jonny Baxter, said: “Reliable electricity is fundamental to economic growth, job creation and improved livelihoods. Yet millions of Nigerians still lack access to dependable power. Through British International Investment, the UK is supporting innovative Nigerian solutions that can help close this gap. Not only is this about expanding access to power, but it is also about clean power. More reliable power creates opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs, which generates jobs and drives inclusive economic growth. And clean power means less pollution. This investment reflects the strength of the UK-Nigeria partnership and our shared commitment to sustainable development, energy security and long-term prosperity.”

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The Director and Head of Infrastructure & Climate Debt, Africa and South Asia at BII, Geoffrey Manley, said: “For innovative energy companies such as Okra, access to the right type of finance can be just as important as the technology itself. Our flexible facility will enable Okra to procure critical components earlier and at greater scale, reducing costs and shortening delivery times. We believe this will help demonstrate the commercial viability of mesh-grids and establish the model as an increasingly important part of Africa’s distributed renewable energy market.”

The investment comes as Nigeria expands distributed renewable energy through initiatives including the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, implemented by Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency with World Bank support. Mesh-grids are eligible under the programme, which provides results-based financing to support new electricity connections. Faster equipment delivery will also help Okra’s developer customers bring projects online and access results-based grant payments sooner, potentially reducing their cost of financing equipment purchases. “Every month a project is delayed is another month a community goes without power. Until now, we would only order components once a transaction had closed, in batches of a few thousand units. With BII’s facility, we are procuring long lead time components, batteries, and solar PV equipment upfront and in volume, reducing costs and having stock ready when a developer signs. Equipment reaches Nigeria in less than one-third of the time – getting the lights on sooner,” said CEO, Okra Solar, Afnan Hannan.