Nigeria: Infracredit Mobilises Local Currency Debt for First Electric Energy Project

InfraCredit, an infrastructure credit guarantee institution, has announced the credit enhancement of First Electric Power and Automation Services Limited's local currency debt issuance under a co-financing arrangement with the Climate Finance Blending Facility (CFBF).

The transaction marks the first mesh-grid clean energy infrastructure project supported by the Facility and its sixth overall deal. The CFBF was seeded with £10 million in concessional capital from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), later strengthened by a US$10 million investment from British International Investment (BII) and a US$20 million counter-guarantee facility.

The financing will support the construction and commissioning of 20 mesh-grid electricity networks with a combined capacity of 724.8 kWp across underserved communities in Gombe, Nasarawa and Ondo states. The project is expected to electrify about 5,156 households and small businesses, create 616 jobs, and avoid an estimated 762 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, contributing to Nigeria's universal electrification goals and Sustainable Development Goal 7.

The transaction builds on earlier CFBF-backed projects that have deployed about ₦12 billion across five developers, reaching more than 28,000 beneficiaries, creating over 2,900 jobs and installing roughly 1.8 MW of off-grid solar capacity. The Facility has also enabled a project pipeline valued at about ₦243.31 billion involving 23 developers.

UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, described the investment as a milestone, noting that it demonstrates the Facility's role in supporting innovative, cost-effective power solutions for rural communities.

InfraCredit CEO, Chinua Azubike, said the deal underscores the maturity of the CFBF platform in financing distributed renewable energy. He noted that the Facility's growing portfolio is expected to deliver electricity access to nearly 36,000 households and businesses nationwide.

First Electric CEO, Daniel Komolafe, said the project reflects the company's commitment to delivering commercially viable clean energy solutions that drive social and economic impact.

The project is registered under the World Bank-supported DARES programme and aligns with InfraCredit's broader partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency to unlock long-term financing for off-grid power developers.

Read the original article on Vanguard.