The Nigeria Energy Access Fund has received a grant worth $500,000 from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) for investments in sustainable energy in Nigeria and to support the development and launch of the Nigeria Energy Access Fund (NEAF), a new private equity fund developed by All On, a Nigerian impact investment firm financed by Shell. With the help of this grant, the NEAF will make strategic investments in sustainable energy in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s burgeoning off-grid and mini-grid sectors.

The SEFA which is domiciled at the African Development Bank will support specific workstreams to set NEAF in motion and enhance its engagement with private and public sector investors. NEAF will be a first-of-its-kind facility to provide eligible projects and businesses with equity solutions that are currently unavailable in the market. According to Wale Shonibare, the Acting Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, Nigeria requires bespoke and innovative market-based solutions to provide its off-grid population, estimated at 100 million, access to sustainable sources of energy. The SEFA grant he added will be instrumental in the constitution of NEAF, and ultimately, the mobilization of much-needed private sector investment for the sector.

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Once operational, NEAF is expected to complement the Bank’s wide range of sustainable energy initiatives currently being implemented in Nigeria. In November 2018, the Board of Directors of the Bank approved a $200 million package to support the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), designed to help scale-up green mini-grid solutions with subsidies, among other measures. In May 2018, SEFA approved a $1.5 million grant to support the first phase of the Nigerian government’s Jigawa 1-GW Independent Power Producer Solar Procurement Program.

SEFA’s support to NEAF is aligned with the New Deal on Energy for Africa and the Bank’s High 5 priorities, especially ‘Light Up and Power Africa’ and ‘Improve the Quality of Lives of Africans.’ The project conforms to the Bank’s Energy Sector Strategy and will boost the Nigerian government’s power sector recovery plans.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.