The Rural Electrification Agency, REA has officially signed grant agreement with the Nigerian Electrification Project to improve access to power for under served and bridging electricity gap in the country.
The grant agreement REA said in a statement on Tuesday was part of Output Based Fund (OBF) grant offer for the sale of solar home systems to homes and businesses across Nigeria is implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of Nigeria, with support from the World Bank.
The Managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, signed the grant agreement with the Acting Head of REA’s Project Management Unit (PMU), Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP), Anita Otubu and the MD of Emel Solar Solutions, Onye Mba Uzoukwu.
Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad commended the grantees for scaling through the process, adding that he hopes this journey enables them to become good ambassadors who can testify to the transparent nature of all REA/NEP grant procedures, having scaled through same and getting to this stage.
He also noted that this event goes a long way to show REA’s determination in securing the nation’s economic growth as electricity remains a serious issue in need of innovative solutions to ensure that Nigerians have access to clean, safe and reliable electricity.
Onye Mba-Uzoukwu expressed his appreciation to the MD/CEO of REA and the entire SHS-output based fund grant application team for all the efforts they put in to ensure a seamless process despite the detailed and rigorous steps involved.
He also stated that this great opportunity will further equip Emel Solar to achieve its focus on bridging the electricity gap in Nigeria.
Olubunmi Olowu, Marketing Manager of Emel Solar Solutions expressed that this initiative is coming in very timely for the organization as the business goals of the organization require significant expansion which also comes at a cost. She narrated that there have been some level of limitations in the implementation of the planned strategic growth pillars due to inadequate budget, so she believes this form of reward for hard work is a step in the right direction. She expressed her appreciation for this SHS-OBF grant offer on behalf of herself and the Emel Solar team to REA/NEP, the World Bank and all other parties who have played a role in ensuring this opportunity was made possible.
Ifunanya Nwandu-Dozie, SHS Component Lead of NEP stated in her speech that the objective of this Standalone solar Home System component is to help millions of underserved Nigerian households and micro small medium enterprises (MSMEs) access better energy services at lower cost than what they currently pay through the sale of stand-alone solar systems (Solar Home Systems (SHS)) provided by the private market”.
She further highlighted that expanding reach to consumers across Nigeria is costly and requires significant investment in soft infrastructure such as people, training, advertising, increased working capital, logistics etc. So decreasing a portion of those costs with grant enables successful applicants reach and serve customers faster.
Also, providing the grant against each system after installation means that the government knows what it is getting for its money, and automatically directs the grant proportionally towards those solar providers that are most successful in serving more customers.
Emel Solar Solutions, an indigenous solar solutions company is a pioneer and leading player in Nigeria’s solar energy revolution with over 4 years’ experience of providing reliable solar products and innovative solutions.
It also has the focus of bridging the electricity gap for off-grid/near grid and partial grid communities, through the sale of lighting global quality verified solar systems. Through these strategic partnerships Emel Solar has built unique distribution opportunities in 30 states in Nigeria.
In partnership with the World Bank/International Finance Corporation (IFC) and others, Emel Solar has achieved over 280,000 new end-user connections,the statement notes.
HARRISON EDEH,ABUJA
