An
independent impact investing company, All On, said it had made its first set of
transactions aimed at facilitating increased access to affordable, reliable and
sustainable energy sources for low-income households, the Small and Medium
Enterprises and communities.
According
to a statement, seeded with funding from Royal Dutch Shell, the company is
working with partners to increase access to commercial energy products and
services for under-served and un-served off-grid energy markets in Nigeria,
with a special focus on the Niger Delta.
The
Chief Executive Officer, All On, Dr. Wiebe Boer, said, “This initial set of
transactions demonstrates our commitment to utilising a market-based approach
to making a sustainable impact on the off-grid energy sector in partnership
with global and local market leaders.
“It is
just the beginning of our investments towards improving access to energy in
Nigeria for the tens of millions of off-grid households and the SMEs across the
country,” he added.
According
to the statement, the initial investments include an equity investment in Lumos
Global BV, the fastest growing “distributed utility” in West Africa, and a
grant to Nigerian tech ideation incubator, Co-Creation Hub, to launch a
challenge to engage Nigeria’s technology innovation ecosystem in the access to
energy space.
It said
All On had also entered into a grant agreement with Solar Nigeria, a UK
Aid-funded project implemented by Adam Smith International, for the receipt of
grant funding to further de-risk investments made by All On in the Solar Home
System space.
The firm
said it was also currently in the latter stages of negotiations for an equity
and debt investment in Green Village Enterprises, the award-winning indigenous
mini-grid operator in Nigeria, headquartered in Port Harcourt.
Commenting
on the proposed investment, the Managing Director, GVE, Ifeanyi Orajaka, said,
“We at the GVE are excited about this relationship with All On. An investment
from a world-class organisation such as All On further validates our position
as one of the leading and most innovative indigenous clean energy solutions
providers in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are
very optimistic and look forward to achieving our medium-term target of
impacting two per cent of Nigeria’s 180 million population through this
partnership.”
On his
part, the Chief Executive Officer, CCHub, Bosun Tijani, said, “The organisation
is proud to partner All On to support Nigeria’s early stage clean energy
entrepreneurs. Matching our expertise identifying and supporting innovative
startups with All On’s seed capital, we hope we can unearth amazing enterprises
to meet the energy needs and aspirations of Nigerians.”
Source: PunchNG
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