Nov. 23, 2021
Going by the World Bank assessment, around 85 million Nigerians do not have access to grid electricity. With this figure representing 43% percent of the country’s population, Nigeria ranks among countries with the largest energy access deficit in the world.
The lack of reliable power is a significant constraint for citizens and businesses, resulting in annual economic losses. In response to this, innovative startups are upping their games to provide solutions to Nigeria’s energy poverty. One of such companies is Salpha Energy.
The Nigerian-based renewable energy startup, Salpha Energy, has raised $1 million dollars investment from All On, a Shell-funded impact investment company.
This new investment will be deployed to scale the company’s solar home systems distribution business, with a focus on bottom-of-the-pyramid customers in rural and peri-urban areas across Nigeria, including the Niger Delta.
Salpha Energy is a provider of clean, affordable solar home energy systems with a commitment to reaching end-users in underserved communities.
Salpha Energy has an active distributor network of over 350 individuals, cooperatives, and traders nationwide with key partnerships with payment collection enablers such as Paga, InfiBranches, and Interswitch.
In 2020, Salpha Energy received a $50,000 prize as one of the winners of the USADF/All On Off-Grid Energy Challenge. This was used to pilot Pay-As-You-Go contracts for customers in the Niger Delta.
According to the energy company, the recent funding will be used to develop Salpha’s inventory and product range, expand sales channels and customer service infrastructure, and test more flexible pricing models to sustainably manage rural and low-income customers across Nigeria.
Expressing his delight over the fundraising, Sandra Chukwudozie, Founder and CEO of Salpha Energy, said, “We are very excited about this support from All On which is an indication of their growing confidence in our vision. This additional support will allow us to deliver on our strategy to provide products for customers across the range of their developing energy needs.”
“We are thrilled about this investment which is the continuation of a journey and would provide Salpha inventory needed to supply its expanding network of distributors and a platform to cement its competitive advantage and respond to growing market demand for Solar Home Systems,” said All On Senior Investment Associate, Goziem Okubor.
“It’s also an opportunity to support young indigenous female entrepreneurs in building an exciting and fast-growing solar business,” Goziem added.
Courtesy:climateaction.africa
