Solar King, IFC, and Stanbic IBTC Bank Shut $80 Million Debt Facility to Broaden Photo voltaic Entry in Nigeria

IFC and Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Normal Financial institution Group, have structured an $80 million native foreign money facility to allow off-grid clients to entry reasonably priced photo voltaic options by way of Solar King in Nigeria. IFC contributed $50 million.

The power will enable Solar King to increase its pay-as-you-go photo voltaic financing, enhancing entry to scrub, dependable, and reasonably priced electrical energy for underserved communities. The funding helps the Mission 300 initiative, which goals to attach 300 million individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa to electrical energy by 2030.

[15 MAY, LAGOS] — Solar King, in partnership with IFC and Stanbic IBTC Bank, has secured an $80 million, totally Naira-denominated mortgage facility to scale entry to off-grid photo voltaic vitality in Nigeria. This financing allows households and small companies to undertake clear, dependable solar energy with out prohibitive upfront prices.

By combining private and non-private capital, the power permits Solar King to increase native foreign money loans by way of its pay-as-you-go mannequin whereas mitigating international change dangers. This method allows clients to pay in small instalments, which improves affordability and capital effectivity, notably for low-income and rural customers.

Solar King, a number one off-grid photo voltaic supplier, designs, distributes, and funds photo voltaic programs throughout over 40 nations. With a community of greater than 29,500 brokers throughout Africa, the corporate has offered over 27 million photo voltaic merchandise.  Solar King sells a variety of cost-effective photo voltaic merchandise, from photo voltaic dwelling programs that supply multi-room lighting and telephone charging to highly effective rooftop photo voltaic programs that present energy fairness with the grid.

By way of versatile pay-as-you-go fee choices, clients repay the price of photo voltaic programs over 12 to 24 months by way of every day, weekly, or month-to-month instalments. Clients pays as little as $0.21 a day through cell cash or money. This mannequin lowers the monetary barrier to scrub vitality and broadens entry amongst underserved communities. To this point, Solar King has prolonged $1.2 billion in loans to its clients throughout Africa.

In Nigeria, the place almost 40% of the inhabitants lacks entry to electrical energy, demand for reasonably priced photo voltaic options is rising quickly. The power will assist Solar King’s growth within the nation, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.

“Tens of millions of Nigerians nonetheless reside with out dependable entry to electrical energy, which limits alternative and undermines resilience,” stated Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa. “This funding allows scalable local-currency options that empower households and companies with clear, reasonably priced solar energy. Past vitality entry, it helps rural employment, boosts productiveness, and brings us nearer to our shared aim of inclusive, sustainable improvement.”

The funding aligns with Nigeria’s Nation Partnership Framework with the World Financial institution Group and contributes to Mission 300, a joint initiative with the African Improvement Financial institution launched in 2025 to increase electrical energy entry throughout Africa.

IFC’s financing bundle features a $25 million senior concessional mortgage from the Canada-IFC Africa Renewable Power Program, which helps spur non-public sector financing for local weather change options, particularly progressive and early-stage tasks in rising markets.

In parallel, the Nigerian authorities and the World Financial institution are launching the Distributed Entry by way of Renewable Power Scale-up (DARES) program, which can assist scale back prices for off-grid photo voltaic customers by way of results-based subsidies — complementing this private-sector-led effort.

The power falls underneath Solar King’s Sustainable Financing Framework, which has acquired a ‘Very Good’ Sustainable High quality Rating from Moody’s, recognising its robust contribution to sustainability and local weather objectives.

“Off-grid photo voltaic offers the quickest and most scalable pathway to common electrification throughout Africa. This funding exemplifies the sort of daring, all-hands-on-deck method required to ship dependable, reasonably priced vitality to tens of millions on the tempo Mission 300 requires. With structured financing tailor-made to native wants, we will dismantle affordability limitations and scale up the confirmed influence of off-grid photo voltaic options. We commend IFC and Normal Financial institution for his or her management in advancing sustainable vitality entry.”
— Anish Thakkar, Co-Founder, Solar King

“At Stanbic IBTC, we’re proud to strengthen our partnership with Solar King by way of this transformative $80 million facility, which can empower tens of millions of Nigerians with entry to scrub, dependable, and reasonably priced photo voltaic vitality who would in any other case wrestle to entry energy. This collaboration underscores our dedication to fostering progressive options that handle important vitality challenges in Nigeria whereas driving financial development and enhancing the standard of life for underserved communities. By enabling households and small companies to entry solar energy by way of versatile financing choices, we’re serving to to construct a extra inclusive and sustainable future for Nigeria.”
— Oladele Sotubo, CE of Stanbic Financial institution IBTC Capital Ltd