NEWSLETTER
The demand for solar energy in Nigeria Hambriente de Energía has shot in the last decade thanks to the worsening of the reliability of the network and the increase in fuel costs. That has attracted the interest of investors to AregiaA Tlemetech start meeting you need. The company has just collected an extension of the B $ 15 million (in addition to a $ 3 million B1 round last year), which takes its total to the round to $ 18 million.
That the increase in demand for solar systems follows important policy changes, especially Nigerian decades fuel subsidy elimination In May 2023 (the Government's decision, in a long time, the practice of covering the gap between world and fuel premises).
Since then, gasoline prices have increased almost 500%, which makes energy generators, once seen as the most affordable alternative to the power of the slightly reliable network and solar systems despite the environmental risks, much more expensive.
Arnergy's tone has changed with the times. “When we started the business, we used to position solar energy as a way to obtain uninterrupted power, not necessarily to save money. It was not part of a commercial conversation,” the founder and CEO Femi Adeyemo He told TechCrunch. “Now it is, because we can clearly show customers how our systems keep them monthly, either using gasoline, diesel or even the network.”
Adeyemo launched Arnergy in 2013 to provide solar systems to homes and companies in sectors such as hospitality, education, finance, agriculture and medical care.
What began as a resilience game is now a cost savings strategy that changes the adoption economy for the Timetech backed by Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures (The company led Arnergy's $ 9 million series A In 2019)
Lease with option to another adoption
That adoption is clearer in the lease to buy the company, Z litewhich became a central approach after the first section of Arnergy's B series last year.
While direct purchases comprised 60% to 70% of income in 2023, they represented only 25% of sales last year. On the other hand, the lease to purchase, where customers pay fixed monthly rates for 5 to 10 years before owning the system, has won more traction.
A reason for this change is affordability compared to electricity rates. Until recently, many people saw long -term leases as more expensive than executing diesel or gasoline generators. But with the prices of upward diesel the elimination of subsidia and network rates climbing, especially after a new government policy last April that tripled the costs of electricity consumption for customers with the most stable energy—It
“Imagine paying ₦ 200,000 (~ $ 125) every month for energy. With our product, that falls to ₦ 96,000 (~ $ 60). For five years, it is obvious what it will save,” said the CEO. He added that many existing clients are duplicating their solar capacity or changing completely out of the network as a result.
Arnergy tripled its lease client base between 2023 and 2024 and hopes to grow it 4–5x this year. Naira's income has risen accordingly and is on the way to quadruplica by the end of the year.
Dollar income, on the other hand, has remained stable due to the devaluation of the currency, but Adeyemo said the company is building FX income through B2B2C associations called dollars and a possible expansion in Francophone Africa.
Scale in the middle of another government policy
Until now, Arnergy has deployed more than 1,800 systems in 35 Nigerian states, for a total of 9MWP of Solar and 23 MWh of battery storage.
Arnergy plans to use its new financing directed by the Nigerian private capital firm Cardinalstone Capital Advisers (CCA) to install more than 12,000 systems by 2029. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, as well as British international investment, Norfund, Edfi MC, and all participated in the round.
But hitting that goal requires a strategic change. For almost a decade, Arnergy managed internal sales. Now, he is adopting a model promoted by the association with commercial customers and physical sales points out of lakes to reach more customers in the Nigeria energy market.
Cleantech, based in Lagos, is in conversations to raise additional local debt from Banks and DFI to support these projects, including energy solutions as a service (EAAS) for multinationals, says Adeyemo.
However, as Arnergy prepares to climb, a proposed policy could threaten his impulse.
Last month, the Nigeria government plans announced to ban solar panel imports To boost local manufacturing. The measure has caused a violent reaction of interested parties that argue that domestic capacity is far from being ready.
Adeyemo agrees with the objective, but not with the approach. He warned that a premature prohibition could stop an industry that is only taking off.
According to the CEO, Nigeria needs to create an environment with adequate infrastructure, the stability of politics and access to capital so that local factories can increase in the next 3 to 5 years. Only after that, the country should begin to think about eliminating imports.
“We are defenders of local manufacturing. But let's build the capacity before closing the door of imports. Otherwise, we run the risk of doing more damage than well, both to the industry and the millions of Nigerians who now trust solar energy as their main source of energy,” he said.
(Tagstotranslate) Breakthrough Energy Ventures (T) Arnergy (T) Bill Gates Startup
