• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Arnergy raises $9m via Series A financing to boost energy reliability

Nigeria grows sales of solar products by 38% to 628,000 in one year

Nigerian renewable energy solutions provider Arnergy has closed Series A financing and a new injection of capital meant to drive commercial growth towards enhancing energy reliability for its customers.

The distributed utility company, Arnergy, on Monday announced it has raised $9 million in a Series A round of funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund), ElectriFI (EDFI Management Company) and All On.

Arnergy enters a new phase in its development with investors that share its vision and have a track record of tackling the most pressing energy challenges across emerging market economies, beginning with Nigeria.

“We believe that energy needs in Nigeria have surpassed rudimentary requirements of low power utilisation and our product offerings are solving for reliability and not just access,” said Femi Adeyemo, founder and chief executive officer of Arnergy.

Read Also: How Arnergy’s tech powered solution could dent Nigeria’s energy poverty

Arnergy’s distributed renewable energy systems harness the combination of solar power, superior storage solutions and proprietary remote management technologies to deliver scalable, reliable and affordable energy solutions that are tailored to tackle issues related to intermittency and grid unreliability. Since launch, Arnergy has delivered over 2 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity and over 5MWh of storage capacity to business and residential clients across Nigeria.

“Arnergy inherently understands the West African market and its need for power reliability,” Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures said. “Creating accessibility to reliable renewable energy sources is paramount to economic growth in this region. With Arnergy’s technology, we can significantly decrease carbon emissions and it’s a model that can be replicated all over the developing world.”

Arnergy’s market scaling ambitions, fuelled by the influx of new capital, will include new business models and partnership opportunities, as well as consumer financing and channel expansion activities. Targeted verticals for the company’s 5 kilowatts (KW) modular systems will include small businesses, healthcare, hospitality, financial services, agribusiness and education.

Mark Davis, EVP Clean Energy at Norfundemphasised that access to clean and stable energy is a prerequisite for job creation and development and this why Norfund is proud to support the expansion of Arnergy. It “will provide Nigerian households and businesses on a weak-grid connection with a cheaper, cleaner and more reliable power solution to meet their daily needs,” Davis said.

Similarly, ElectriFI, EU-backed access to energy and impact fund expressed satisfaction to join such a strong group of investors and backing visionary entrepreneurs who will positively impact thousands of local businesses in Nigeria, Dominiek Deconinck, ElectriFI Fund Manager said.

Wiebe Boer, CEO of Shell funded All On, alluded to the fact this is a deal that is particularly exciting to them at All On as a Nigerian impact investor because “it reinforces our belief that local energy companies like Arnergy with innovative Nigerian technology and business models can attract investments from global giants like Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Norfund and ElectriFI, and are ready and able to compete on a global stage.”

A note of excitement was also expressed by DamilolaOgunbiyi, the CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). “I am delighted that Arnergy, a homegrown company and one of the market leaders for off-grid energy in Nigeria, has reached this milestone to raise capital from such an impressive group of local and international investors. It is a validation of all the hard work the REA and all of our partners are doing to create an enabling environment for off-grid development. ”

Arnergy is a distributed utility company that provides energy solutions tailored to energy reliability in emerging markets. Its energy solutions empower businesses and residential customers through the design, sale and installation of affordable and reliable, distributed energy systems.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) invests in companies that leverage innovative technologies to help address climate change. Backed by many of the world’s top business leaders, BEV has more than $1 billion in committed capital to support bold entrepreneurs building companies that can significantly reduce emissions from agriculture, buildings, electricity, manufacturing, and transportation.

ElectriFI – the Electrification Financing Initiative invests in on- and off-grid early-stage private companies focusing on creating new or improved connections and on adding generation capacity from renewable energy sources in emerging markets.

Norfund is owned by the Government of Norway and serves as an instrument in the Norwegian development assistance policy. The fund’s mission is to create jobs and improve lives by investing in businesses that drive sustainable development. The three main industries for investments are clean energy, financial institutions and food & agribusiness, with a geographical focus in Sub-Saharan Africa and in selected countries in Asia and Central America.