British International Investment (BII) has provided Okra Solar, a firm specializing in renewable energy solutions, a $7 million loan to boost electricity access in Nigeria’s rural areas.
The financing will support the procurement of solar equipment, batteries, and other essential components for the company’s mesh-grid technology, which combines solar panels, battery storage, and wireless communication technology.
According to BII, the investment could enable approximately 150,000 new electricity connections, potentially providing power access to as many as 750,000 people.
Okra Solar’s mesh-grid system allows neighbouring households and businesses to share electricity, addressing limitations associated with traditional solar home systems and larger centralised mini-grids.
The company’s technology incorporates OkraNet, a wireless communications system, and Okra Harvest, a software platform for monitoring energy networks and managing billing.
Okra Solar‘s mesh-grid technology can reduce electricity distribution costs by up to 60% and accelerate deployment by approximately 70% compared with conventional grid extension methods.
Chief Executive Officer Afnan Hannan explained that advance procurement of equipment will help shorten the time required to deliver equipment to Nigeria and accelerate project implementation.
Okra Solar currently reports more than 13,000 connected households and over 2.3 megawatts of installed capacity, which could increase more than tenfold with the new financing.
The investment complements Nigeria’s renewable energy initiatives, including the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, and aims to improve household energy access while supporting rural businesses and sustainable economic development.