The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank has approved a $500,000 grant to support the development and launch of the Nigeria Energy Access Fund (NEAF), a new private equity fund developed by All On, a Nigerian impact investment firm financed by Shell. NEAF will make strategic investments in sustainable energy in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s burgeoning off-grid and mini-grid sectors.
The SEFA grant will support specific workstreams to set NEAF in motion and enhance its engagement with private and public sector investors. NEAF will be a first-of-its-kind facility to provide eligible projects and businesses with equity solutions that are currently unavailable in the market. “Nigeria requires bespoke and innovative market-based solutions to provide its off-grid population, estimated at 100 million, access to sustainable sources of energy.
The SEFA grant will be instrumental in the constitution of NEAF, and ultimately, the mobilization of much-needed private sector investment for the sector”, said Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s Acting Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth.