Nigeria took a major step toward closing its electricity access gap this week as the Nigeria Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) Fund officially entered commercial operation, shifting from years of structuring work into active investment in off-grid and mini-grid power projects across the country.
The announcement came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), pan-African investment platform Africa50, and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) jointly unveiled the fund’s commercial launch on Monday in Abuja.
The $300 million vehicle is intended to channel capital toward distributed renewable energy solutions, including mini-grids and standalone solar systems, that can reach households and businesses currently left out of Nigeria’s traditional power grid. The initiative is closely tied to Mission 300, the continent-wide push to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
NSIA Managing Director and CEO Aminu Umar-Sadiq called the launch a signal to markets and investors that Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy sector is “investable, credible and ready to operate at scale.”
Africa50 Group CEO Alain Ebobissé pointed to the partnership’s combined strengths, NSIA’s local market knowledge, Africa50’s investment management experience, SEforALL’s energy-access expertise, and the World Bank’s global backing, as the foundation for a model that could be replicated in other African countries.
The World Bank is a founding partner in the fund, contributing an initial $25 million through the International Development Association (IDA).
Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde said the contribution reflects the Bank’s commitment to combining funding sources to deliver real electricity connections across the continent.
SEforALL’s Damilola Ogunbiyi and International Solar Alliance Director General Ashish Khanna both framed the fund as a template for scaling private-sector-led energy investment beyond Nigeria’s borders, with Khanna noting that lessons from the partnership, including knowledge sharing between Africa and India, could help other nations unlock similar financing.
Co-managed by Africa50 and NSIA, the fund is designed to grow into a broader platform for cultivating a new generation of African distributed renewable energy companies.
