Okra Solar has secured a $7 million debt facility from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, to procure equipment for approximately 150,000 new solar-powered connections in rural Nigeria, potentially providing electricity to 750,000 people.
The financing, announced on November 10, 2026, is expected to accelerate the company’s expansion by enabling bulk procurement of solar photovoltaic equipment, batteries and other components, while reducing delivery timelines to Nigeria from approximately four months to two months.
According to BII, the investment will help Okra expand its existing network of more than 13,000 connected households and over 2.3 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity by more than tenfold.
“British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, today announced a $7 million debt facility to Okra, a provider of mesh-grid technology for off-grid communities. The investment will help accelerate access to reliable and clean electricity, primarily in Nigeria,” the statement read in part.
Okra Solar CEO, Afnan Hannan, said the facility would transform the company’s procurement process by allowing it to purchase critical equipment ahead of project agreements.
“Every month a project is delayed is another month a community goes without power. Until now, we would only order components once a transaction had closed, in batches of a few thousand units. With BII’s facility, we are procuring long lead time components, batteries, and solar PV equipment upfront and in volume, reducing costs and having stock ready when a developer signs. Equipment reaches Nigeria in less than ⅓ of the time – getting the lights on sooner,” he said.
Okra’s mesh-grid technology combines solar generation, battery storage and smart controls, enabling neighbouring homes and businesses to share electricity within communities.
The impact is already evident in Nasarawa State, where a phone-charging business owner reportedly reduced weekly energy expenditure from ₦60,000 on petrol-powered generation to approximately ₦6,000 after connecting to an Okra-powered mesh-grid.
British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, described reliable electricity as fundamental to economic growth, job creation and improved livelihoods.
Okra previously partnered with SAO Group in 2021 to develop mesh-grid projects targeting more than 10,000 households, healthcare centres and digital literacy centres in Ondo and Kwara states.
The latest financing comes amid growing investment in Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy sector. Recent interventions include the Federal Government’s 16MW interconnected mini-grid projects and the ₦100 billion revolving credit facility established by the Rural Electrification Agency and Lotus Bank in February 2026.
BII said its investment qualifies as 100 per cent climate finance and falls under the 2X Challenge for women’s economic empowerment, further positioning distributed solar energy as an important pathway towards expanding electricity access in underserved communities.
