A Nigerian impact investment company, All On, Odyssey Energy Solutions, and Global Alliance for People and Planet have announced the launch of a global aggregated procurement programme for renewable energy companies, supported by a $10m financing facility, in Nigeria.
They said in a statement that the new Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology programme would ensure that affordable, high-quality solar products reach the communities most in need in Nigeria, before piloting the programme in four additional countries in Africa.
“The programme aims to accelerate the growth of the renewable energy sector in Nigeria and beyond by combining demand pooling and aggregated purchasing of solar equipment, access to affordable finance, and coordinated logistics processes to unlock economies of scale for solar companies and achieve cost savings for end-users,” it said.
It said the All On-managed finance facility would provide debt funding for solar companies already approved by the Rural Electrification Agency for the Nigeria Electrification Program to purchase lower-cost solar equipment through the DART.
The Managing Director of Innovation for the Alliance, Eric Wanless, said, “We are excited to launch the DART program in Nigeria as an important part of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, which is accelerating the transition to renewable energy access for all, reducing emissions and creating jobs.
“Aggregating the procurement of standardised DRE products will ensure low-cost, reliable, and clean energy is empowering people and businesses in Nigeria.”
According to the statement, the equipment finance facility for Nigeria is seeded by matching investments of $5m from All On and The Alliance respectively.
“We are particularly excited about this deal which will inject much-needed capital into the renewable energy sector in Nigeria,” said All On Chief Executive Officer, Wiebe Boer.
“This innovative partnership provides a solution to industry challenges such as high finance costs and lack of scale, by ensuring price competitiveness, supply chain optimisation and unlocking local currency financing,” he added.
The statement said Odyssey Energy Solutions would provide aggregated procurement services in five pilot countries in Africa, starting in Nigeria.
“We are excited about the potential for demand aggregation and centralisation of procurement and logistics services to dramatically drive down the cost of key distributed renewables equipment, and accelerate project deployment,” said Odyssey Chief Executive Officer, Emily McAteer.
The Chief Executive Officer and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, Damilola Ogunbiyi, described the DART mechanism as a huge win for Nigeria.
