The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group has launched the Lighting Africa Program for Nigeria. The program which is a joint initiative of IFC and the World Bank will help increase access to affordable, clean and safer lighting for more than 30% of Nigeria’s population who live in rural areas and have low income and no access to grid electricity.
Lighting African mobilizes the private sector to build and develop markets that enable access to clean, affordable quality lighting products by fostering partnerships among local and global manufacturers and creating new channels through local distribution companies that will help build robust supply chains for off-grid lighting products. Itotia Njagi, Program Manager for Lighting Africa Program said, “Lighting Africa is helping to build a market to bring off- grid lighting and energy services across Africa by establishing quality standards, investing in consumer education, creating a favorable investment climate and supporting innovative business models.
As we foster these partnerships among all parties in the industry, various opportunities would be explored and our goal of inclusive electrification would be achieved in Nigeria.” He explained that the expansion of the lighting Africa program to Nigeria supports the World Bank Group’s Energy Business Plan, under the Energy Business Plan, each World Bank Group institution will leverage its competences and products to provide solutions to projects that encourage their viability and contribute to the sustainability of Nigeria’s power sector to underpin the government’s ambitious privatization and reform program.
According to him, “People are spending about N800 or N1000 on either kerosene or charging their grid connected lanterns and if you look at that per year, that will be over a N100,000, which will be able to get a really good solar solution. For us, we are saying that if you are truly off-grid, there is a technology available, affordable and can provide all the range of services that you want.”
