Nigeria needs about $23 billion in additional investment to expand electricity access and improve supply reliability as population growth, artificial intelligence, digitalisation and wider electrification drive demand, the Rural Electrification Agency has said.
REA Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Abuja during the signing of a N50 billion financing agreement with Alpha Morgan Bank to support renewable energy projects.
Under the deal, eligible developers under REA programmes, including the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project, can access revolving loans of up to N10 billion each, subject to credit approval.
Alpha Morgan Bank will provide up to 70 per cent counterpart funding, with loan tenures of between 12 and 24 months.
Aliyu said the facility remained modest compared with the sector’s financing needs, noting that less than $2.5 billion was currently available against the estimated $23 billion requirement.
He identified population growth, wider electrification, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and data centres as major drivers of future electricity demand, warning that infrastructure expansion was lagging behind population growth.
He said falling solar-generation costs and advances in battery storage were strengthening the role of renewable energy in meeting rising demand.
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The $750 million DARES programme, approved by the World Bank on December 15, 2023, targets electricity access for more than 17.5 million Nigerians through distributed renewable energy solutions, including solar mini-grids and standalone systems.
Aliyu said the REA’s performance-based financing model would enable developers to secure bridge funding while working towards grant eligibility. The agency is also expecting $119 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for interconnected and isolated mini-grid projects.
He announced that the Renewable Energy Asset Management Company (RAMCO) would be launched on August 26, 2026, to support the management and financing of renewable energy assets.
The REA, he said, holds renewable energy assets worth more than $300 million in universities, while its renewable energy manufacturing pipeline stands at about 3.7GW, backed by estimated investments of $225 million.
Aliyu added that the agency was nearing completion of 288MW of interconnected mini-grid projects, with commissioning expected to begin in November 2026.
Alpha Morgan Bank Executive Director, Doyin Anyaehie, said the N50 billion commitment was aimed at easing financing constraints that have stalled viable renewable energy projects.
She said unreliable electricity continues to affect businesses, schools, healthcare facilities and households, adding that the partnership would be judged by the projects delivered and their impact on underserved communities.
The agreement marks another push to deepen private-sector financing for decentralised renewable energy as Nigeria seeks to close its electricity access gap and keep pace with rising demand driven by population growth and technological expansion.