Rensource has raised $3 million from Proparco, with the support of the European Union under the Africa Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up).
Rensource, the first beneficiary in the program, will use the funding to contribute to facilitating energy access in the context of a significant and growing energy gap in Nigeria and support the development of innovative solar energy solutions.
Rensource Energy aims to develop, build and operate over 100 minigrids with a combined power capacity exceeding 35MW over the next five years and to provide clean and affordable electricity to 250,000 SMEs. This will lead to significant job creation and save 30,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
With support from the European Union, PROPARCO and Agence Française de Développement set up the Africa Renewable Energy Scale-Up facility (ARE Scale-Up) to boost investments in off-grid renewable energy in Africa.
“By developing innovative economic models based on renewable energies, SMEs such as Rensource will be playing a key role in the energy sector over the coming years”, explains Jean GUYONNET-DUPERAT, PROPARCO’s regional director in Nigeria. “Our investment is fully aligned with PROPARCO’s mandate which is to support green and inclusive growth and is 100% in line with the Paris Agreements. The project is also a great fit with French initiative Choose Africa, which aims at supporting African entrepreneurship”.
In December, EDP Renováveis invested $3 million in Rensource, a company that develops and manages decentralized solar energy systems, to support its expansion in Nigeria.
This $3 million investment (about € 2.6 million) – which was the result of a financing initiative completed by EDP Renováveis and other international investors such as CRE Ventures, Omidyar Network, Inspired Evolution, Proparco, I&P, Sin Capital and Yuzura Honda – will support the company’s expansion in Nigeria.
The firm also announced it raised $20 million Series A round to build an online platform for supply-chain services, business-analytics and working capital options for Nigeria’s SME.
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