In a significant step toward local industrialisation and the expansion of clean energy, Sun King, the top off-grid solar company in the world, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy access, domestic manufacturing, and data-driven innovation.
The collaboration, which was revealed at the Nigeria Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) in Abuja, is a significant step toward Nigeria’s goal of reducing reliance on imports by up to $150 million over the next five years and creating a clean energy economy that can sustain itself.
The agreement, which was witnessed by Patrick Walsh, the co-founder and CEO of Sun King, and Kashim Shettima, the vice president of Nigeria, demonstrated the strong political support for a private-public partnership that seeks to hasten Nigeria’s transition to clean energy.
“To unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s energy transition, we need the private sector — our industrialists, innovators, and financiers- to take bold steps forward,” said Shettima.
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“We are enhancing incentives for local manufacturing, streamlining regulatory frameworks, and deepening collaboration with State Governments, investors, and development partners to de-risk private capital and accelerate the growth of a self-sustaining renewable energy market.”
Sun King’s significant milestone
With over 330,000 solar kits sold monthly throughout Africa, Sun King’s Nigerian operations have grown quickly, from 3,000 units per month in 2020 to 75,000 units per month today. Due to the ongoing surge in consumer demand for dependable, reasonably priced power, the company anticipates tripling sales over the next several years.
Along with solar home systems, Sun King has expanded into energy-efficient appliances like freezers, televisions, and smartphones that work with its solar kits. This action connects energy access to local value creation, which aligns with Nigeria’s larger industrialisation agenda.
Phases to be covered by Sun King-REA partnership
Three main areas of cooperation will be covered by the new Memorandum of Understanding between Sun King and REA: data and technical cooperation, local manufacturing and value addition, and cooperative promotion of off-grid solar as a key component of Nigeria’s energy strategy.
The partnership’s first pillar promotes domestic assembly of specific solar and energy-efficient products in line with the Nigeria First policy. By boosting local involvement in production and supply chains, Sun King and REA hope to create new jobs and guarantee that Nigerians receive a larger portion of the benefits from the clean energy industry.
According to Sun King, local manufacturing could replace imports of $150 million worth of solar and appliance components in five years with the correct enabling conditions, such as tax breaks, infrastructure assistance, and simplified regulations.
Additionally, the partners intend to help government and industry stakeholders have a structured conversation about building a strong local manufacturing ecosystem.
Utilising Sun King’s global manufacturing expertise, the partnership aims to provide insights for policymakers, creating policies that bolster Nigeria’s industrial base and boost competitiveness in electronics and renewable energy production.
The second area of cooperation focuses on technical collaboration and data sharing. The Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) are two initiatives that REA and Sun King will collaborate to improve the gathering and analysis of consumer data, market intelligence, and operational metrics.
Through this technical partnership, Nigeria’s long-term renewable energy planning will be sharpened, infrastructure bottlenecks and skills gaps will be identified, and overall value chain efficiency will be increased.
The strategy backs Mission 300, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, with Nigeria likely playing a key role.
The MoU’s third focus area is on collaborative advocacy to increase awareness of stand-alone solar solutions as an essential part of Nigeria’s national energy strategy. REA and Sun King will demonstrate how off-grid solar energy improves lives by bringing electricity to small businesses, schools, and homes in underserved communities.
The partners hope to align public and private sector narratives around a common clean energy vision while fostering an atmosphere that supports large-scale private investment through the promotion of favourable policies and financing mechanisms.
“Sun King was the largest partner on REA’s Nigeria Electrification Programme,” said Abba Abubakar Aliyu, managing director and chief executive officer of REA. “This next chapter goes further, linking energy access, industrial growth, and supportive policy into one unified push for Nigeria’s clean-energy future.”
Sun King’s quick growth in Nigeria has already produced more than 12,000 jobs in data analytics, engineering, sales, and marketing. The company hopes to increase that impact with the new Memorandum of Understanding by providing localised assembly, distribution, and after-sales services, opening up thousands of new job opportunities in rural and urban areas.
REA-Sun King partnership to stimulate private investment in the renewable energy industry
The REA-Sun King partnership also aims to stimulate private investment in the renewable energy industry by indicating a robust market opportunity and consistent policy.
According to analysts, the fastest-growing segments of Nigeria’s power market are standalone solar and hybrid systems as the country’s grid continues to be strained by growing demand and deteriorating infrastructure.
According to industry data, Nigeria’s off-grid market already attracts hundreds of millions of dollars a year in donor and private funding, but there is still little domestic manufacturing. The new partnership aims to close that gap by coordinating the deployment of clean energy with industrial policy.
“This partnership unites two powerful goals — Mission 300, connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, and the Government of Nigeria’s industrialisation vision,” said Patrick Walsh, co-founder and CEO of Sun King. “It’s about making clean energy affordable, unlocking new manufacturing opportunities, and using shared data and insight to build stronger renewable-energy and electronics industries across Nigeria.”
Potential model for sustainable industrial policy in Africa
Analysts see the REA-Sun King agreement as a possible model for sustainable industrial policy in Africa. It shows how governments and multinational energy corporations can work together to achieve inclusive growth.
The partnership aligns climate ambition with job creation and value retention, which are important priorities for many African economies, by combining the expansion of clean energy with domestic production.
The stakes are high for Nigeria. The drive toward off-grid solar and local manufacturing could change the nation’s energy and economic landscape, as an estimated 85 million people lack access to electricity.
An essential step in that direction is the REA–Sun King partnership, which exemplifies how public and private partnerships can promote energy access and import substitution, advancing Nigeria’s transition to a cleaner, more resilient industrial future.