Nigeria has signed a $200 million agreement with WeLight, a pan-African Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) company, to deploy hundreds of renewable mini grids aimed at providing reliable electricity to millions of people in rural and peri-urban communities.
The deal represents a significant step in Nigeria’s growing embrace of renewable energy, which is increasingly seen as a viable alternative to the country’s struggling gas-powered electricity supply. With Nigeria’s national grid generating only around 5,000MW against an estimated demand of 30,000MW, energy poverty remains a critical challenge, especially in rural areas where grid supply is either unreliable or completely absent.
According to Reuters, the project, backed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), will focus on setting up 400 mini-grids and 50 MetroGrids across rural Nigeria, improving electricity access for an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
For decades, Nigeria’s electricity crisis has remained one of the biggest obstacles to economic growth. Despite being one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria has one of the lowest electricity access rates on the continent, with millions relying on costly and polluting diesel generators due to frequent blackouts and inadequate supply from the national grid. Mini-grids powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind have been identified as a key solution to Nigeria’s energy gap, particularly in rural areas that are too far from the national grid or underserved due to weak transmission infrastructure.
The deal with WeLight is expected to help bridge this gap, as mini-grids offer localized power generation that can provide stable and affordable electricity to homes, businesses, and essential services like healthcare and education. The Nigerian government has been actively working to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix from 22% to 50% in line with its National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP). This has led to a shift towards private-sector partnerships, with the government seeking investments to develop solar, wind, and hydropower projects to complement its traditional fossil-fuel-based electricity supply.
WeLight, backed by Axian Group, Sagemcom, and Norfund, announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) on Monday. Romain de Villeneuve, Chief Executive Officer of WeLight, said in a statement that the agreement represents a leap toward providing clean electricity to millions in Nigeria while also supporting WeLight’s ambition to become a truly pan-African company.
The company has already established a presence in Madagascar, Mali, and Niger, where it has built solar-powered mini-grids to electrify off-grid communities. Its expansion into Nigeria is seen as a major milestone in its bid to become a dominant player in Africa’s renewable energy space.
Beyond improving energy access, the project is expected to stimulate economic growth in rural areas, where a lack of reliable electricity has severely limited productivity and industrial development. Many small businesses in rural areas operate below capacity due to power shortages, while farmers often lose perishable goods due to the lack of cold storage and processing facilities.
Nigeria’s current electricity generation capacity remains grossly insufficient, with the national grid barely generating 5,000MW—far below the estimated 30,000MW required to meet national demand. As a result, many parts of the country experience daily power outages, while some rural areas have never had grid electricity at all. The country’s over-reliance on gas-powered electricity has contributed to this crisis, as inconsistent gas supply, vandalism of pipelines, and aging infrastructure continue to disrupt power generation.
Renewable energy solutions like solar mini-grids provide a cheaper, faster, and more sustainable way to increase electricity supply, particularly for off-grid communities. Unlike fossil fuel-based power plants, which require large investments in infrastructure and fuel supply, mini-grids can be deployed quickly and operated at lower costs.