BII Backs Okra Solar With $7 Million to Expand Clean Energy Access in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria — British International Investment, the United Kingdom's development finance institution and impact investor, has provided a $7 million debt facility to Okra Solar to accelerate the expansion of clean and reliable electricity in underserved communities in Nigeria.

The financing is expected to allow Okra to procure equipment for approximately 150,000 new electricity connections, with the potential to provide power to as many as 750,000 people, according to the announcement.

The investment comes as Nigeria continues to face one of the world's largest electricity-access challenges. BII estimates that about 90 million Nigerians lack reliable and affordable power, particularly in rural and underserved communities where extending the national electricity grid can be difficult and expensive.

Funding a Different Approach to Rural Electrification

Okra provides mesh-grid technology, which combines solar generation, battery storage and smart controls to allow neighbouring homes and businesses to share electricity through decentralised networks.

The approach is designed to provide an alternative between individual solar home systems and conventional electricity-grid expansion.

Small solar systems can meet basic household electricity needs, while extending the national grid to scattered communities can require substantial infrastructure investment. Mesh-grid technology is intended to allow communities to share locally generated electricity with less infrastructure than a traditional grid extension.

Okra currently reports more than 13,000 connected households and over 2.3 megawatts of installed capacity. The new BII facility is expected to help the company increase its number of connections by more than tenfold.

Bulk Procurement Could Reduce Delays

The $7 million facility is structured as debt financing and is intended primarily to provide Okra with working capital for equipment procurement.

Previously, the company generally ordered important components after individual project transactions had been completed. This could mean waiting for equipment to be manufactured, purchased and shipped before installation could begin.

With the new financing, Okra plans to purchase critical components—including batteries and solar photovoltaic equipment—in larger quantities and ahead of project demand.

According to BII and Okra, this approach could reduce equipment costs and cut delivery times to Nigeria from approximately four months to around two months.

Faster equipment delivery could help developers bring projects online more quickly, reducing the time communities spend waiting for electricity after projects have been approved.

Supporting Nigeria's Renewable-Energy Push

The investment also comes as Nigeria seeks to expand distributed renewable energy through programmes aimed at increasing electricity access.

Mesh-grid projects are eligible under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, or DARES, which is implemented by Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency with World Bank support.

The programme provides results-based financing for qualifying electricity connections. Faster access to equipment could therefore help developers complete projects sooner and potentially access financing linked to successful new connections.

The BII investment could also improve the commercial viability of renewable-energy projects by allowing developers to obtain equipment more efficiently and reduce delays in project delivery.

Potential Economic Impact

Reliable electricity can have a significant impact on small businesses and local economic activity, particularly in communities that depend heavily on petrol or diesel generators.

A decentralised clean-energy system could reduce dependence on fuel-powered generation while providing households and businesses with a more reliable source of electricity.

BII's Director and Head of Infrastructure and Climate Debt for Africa and South Asia, Geoffrey Manley, said access to suitable financing was important for innovative energy companies seeking to scale their operations.

The investment, he said, could help demonstrate the commercial potential of mesh-grid technology within Africa's growing distributed renewable-energy market.

For Okra, the immediate challenge will be turning the financing into actual connections across rural communities. The projected 150,000 new connections and potential reach of 750,000 people represent expected outcomes rather than people who have already received electricity.

If the expansion is successfully implemented, however, the $7 million facility could make a significant contribution to Nigeria's efforts to close its electricity-access gap while demonstrating how private investment and decentralised renewable technology can support rural development.