The $300-million Nigeria Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) Fund was commercially launched on Monday, in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. DRE refers to standalone, mini-grid and other off-grid systems and the fund is intended to scale the deployment of such systems across Nigeria, meeting the country’s development priorities while also supporting the AU’s Mission 300, which seeks to connect 300-million Africans to electricity by 2030.

The fund is co-managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and specialist Africa infrastructure investor Africa50. One of the founding partners of the Nigeria DRE Fund was the World Bank Group, which made initial contribution of $25-million. The launch of the fund is supported by international organisation Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL – which is hosted by the UN Office for Project Services). It is hoped that the Nigeria DRE Fund can be replicated across the continent.

“This is a major development milestone,” affirmed NSIA MD and CEO Aminu Umar-Sadiq. “It is a strategic signal to markets, investors, governments and development partners that Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy market is investable, credible and ready to operate at scale.”

The fund demonstrated the use of public finance to mobilise private capital. By accelerating investment in renewable energy, it is also intended to transform Nigeria’s energy sector and wider economy. If replicated by other African countries, this model could do the same for them.

“Reliable and affordable energy is required for job creation and economic transformation in Africa, and the Nigeria DRE Platform contributes through a bold, collaborative approach needed to accelerate it – bringing together development finance, private capital, and regional expertise as partners under one platform to achieve universal energy access,” highlighted World Bank Group operations MD Anna Bjerde.

“What sets the Nigeria DRE Fund apart is the strength of the partnership: NSIA’s local market expertise, Africa50’s pan-African investment and fund management capabilities, SEforALL’s energy-access leadership, and the World Bank’s global energy thought leadership and catalytic capital,” stressed Africa50 Group CEO Alain Ebobissé. “Together, we are turning Nigeria’s energy needs into investable opportunities and building a model that can scale across Africa."