The Electrification Finance Initiative (ElectriFI), an European Union (EU) funded programme, has approved a working capital of $4.5 million for Okra Solar to use solar mesh-grids to target 76,000 energy access beneficiaries in Nigeria by the end of 2025.
Okra Solar, which received the funding, recently developed the mesh-grid technology specifically to electrify underserved or unserved communities.
Their proprietary Okra Pod is a device that enables the solar systems installed at each household to communicate and share power through a low voltage transmission cable (creating the mesh-grid). The pods are sold with PV panels, batteries and inverters.
The company has started focusing on the highly strategic Nigerian market and wants to deploy multiple pilot projects to energize more than 30,000 households in-country over the next two to three years.
Read also: Husk Power installs 8 Solar Microgrids across Nigeria
The Transformative Technology
ElectriFI senior investment officer at EDFI MC, Maud Watelet, described the Okra Solar technology as “transformative”.
“The technology developed by Okra Solar is transformative. We are proud to contribute to facilitating and accelerating the development of micro- and mini-grids for rural electrification across Nigeria. Given the various awards received by Okra, we are confident that the highly skilled Okra Team will thrive within this complex industry,” said Watelet.
“Even with off-grid solutions like mesh-grids being 10 times cheaper than grid extension for hard-to-reach communities, 80 million people continue to live off-grid in Nigeria. Okra is incredibly excited to work with EDFI ElectriFI to deploy innovative financial tools that will enable local developers to deploy mesh-grids at scale and continue rapidly bringing power to the people,” said Afnan Hannan, co-founder and CEO of Okra Solar.
About Okra Solar
Okra Solar is a plug & play hardware + software solution that allows smart pay-as-you-go mesh-grids to be created by connecting existing off the shelf solar panels and batteries.
Okra mesh-grid design allows for grids to start small, with more panels and batteries able to be added to the grid to increase capacity as demand increases. Remote monitoring keeps grid operators informed so they can eliminate blackouts.
Bridging the financial gap
ElectriFI’s investment consists of a revolving working capital facility designed to bridge the financing gap in the supply chain and help Okra leverage the high demand for their technology, penetrate the Nigerian market further and eventually speed up sustainable electrification.
The ElectriFI Country Window for Nigeria is developed in partnership with EU Delegations and host governments.
“The European Union’s support to Okra through the ElectriFI Nigeria Country Window assists the country’s efforts in accelerating energy access to people in underserved and unserved communities.
“As such, it is at the heart of our partnership with Nigeria, which among others, aims at improving reliable energy access to seize the environmental, social and economic potential of renewable energy,” explained the head of Green and Digital Economy at the Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Nigeria & ECOWAS, Inga Stefanowicz.
About EDFI ElectriFI
EDFI ElectriFI is an EU-funded impact investment facility financing early-stage private companies and projects, focusing on new/improved electricity connections as well as on generation capacity from sustainable energy sources in emerging markets.
EDFI ElectriFI is managed by the EDFI Management Company, a company established by the 15 European Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).