NIGERIA – Lumos, Africa’s solar home system provider, has secured US$35m from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to expand its existing market for reliable, accessible and clean solar power in Nigeria.

The new financing will enable Lumos to produce an additional 160,000 solar home systems (SHS) to meet ever-increasing demand from homes and businesses across the country.

Currently, more than 160 million people in Nigeria have poor or no access to the electricity grid.

Hundreds of thousands of new Lumos solar home systems will enable close to a million people to switch to reliable, clean energy, contributing to economic growth and sustainable development in the country.

Worku Gachou, Managing Director for Africa, at DFC noted that access to power is a fundamental need across Africa and is even more urgent as COVID-19 continues to impact communities across the continent.

“Supporting Lumos will empower one million people across Nigeria by delivering access to reliable and affordable energy. Together, we can help unlock Africa’s enormous potential for growth.”

Worku Gachou – Managing Director for Africa, at DFC

Lumos project of connecting thousands of Nigeria will contribute towards realising the Federal Government’s plan of connect five million households to solar power.

Alistair Gordon, Group CEO, Lumos, said that the funding from DFC will enable people throughout Nigeria to seize the opportunities that come with access to reliable and affordable power.

“Access to energy is the foundation for a high quality of life, good healthcare, education and increased income. Our ultimate goal at Lumos is to provide power for everyone,” Gordon added.

Currently, there are 740 million people with poor or no access to the electricity grid in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By offering a unique power solution to the mass market, Lumos is revolutionising and decentralising power supply in the region.

The DFC financing announcement follows similar funding from Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, announced in August.

The funding from FMO will more than double Lumos’ customer base in Côte d’Ivoire, solidifying its position as the solar home system market leader in West Africa.

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