- InfraCredit has enhanced CEESOLAR’s local currency debt with support from the Climate Finance Blending Facility (CFBF), enabling the construction of four solar hybrid mini-grids in Cross River State to electrify 3,600 households and small businesses, create 561 jobs, and avoid 737 tonnes of CO₂ annually.
- The transaction showcases InfraCredit’s integrated financing model, combining guarantees, concessional capital from FCDO, bridge financing from NSIA’s Construction Finance Warehouse Facility, and technical assistance from FSD Africa to mobilise domestic institutional capital for distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects.
- CEESOLAR’s project is part of a growing pipeline under the CFBF, which has deployed N9 billion across four developers and now supports N243.31 billion in potential projects from 23 developers, reflecting strong momentum in Nigeria’s clean energy transition and InfraCredit’s catalytic role in climate-aligned infrastructure financing.
InfraCredit, a ‘AAA’-rated specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, has announced its credit enhancement of CEESOLAR Energy Limited’s local currency debt issue under a co-financing arrangement with the Climate Finance Blending Facility (CFBF).
This marks the fifth transaction under the Facility, which was seeded with £10 million concessional capital from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and later strengthened by a US$10 million investment by BII alongside a US$20 counter-guarantee facility.
The transaction will finance the construction and commissioning of four isolated solar hybrid mini-grids with a combined capacity of 760 kWp in underserved communities across Cross River State. Once operational, the project will electrify approximately 3,600 households and small businesses, create nearly 561 jobs, and avoid over 737 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, advancing Nigeria’s universal electrification goals and contributing directly to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).
This transaction builds on the success of earlier projects supported through the Facility, which has so far deployed approximately N9 billion across four developers (Darway, Hotspot, ACOB, and Prado), collectively reaching more than 25,000 beneficiaries, creating over 2,300 jobs, and installing approximately 1.7 MW of off-grid solar capacity. The CFBF has now enabled a project pipeline of approximately N243.31 billion across 23 developers seeking financing, demonstrating its catalytic role in mobilising private capital for climate-aligned infrastructure and expanding distributed renewable energy (DRE) access nationwide.
Importantly, the transaction was further supported by InfraCredit’s Construction Finance Warehouse Facility (CFWF) — a bridge financing instrument funded by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) which enables developers to access short-term construction liquidity ahead of long-term refinancing through InfraCredit-guaranteed bonds. The synergy between the NSIA-funded CFWF and the FCDO-funded CFBF underscores InfraCredit’s integrated approach to bridging the financing gap for sustainable infrastructure projects across Nigeria.
The CFBF, managed by InfraCredit, leverages subordinated first-loss capital from FCDO and technical assistance from FSD Africa, alongside InfraCredit’s ‘AAA’-rated guarantees, to de-risk and mobilise domestic institutional capital from pension funds and insurance firms for distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects across Nigeria.
This transaction also reflects the strategic partnership between InfraCredit and the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA), aimed at unlocking access to long-term domestic capital for AMDA member developers. CEESOLAR, an active member of AMDA, is one of the African-owned minigrid companies benefiting from this partnership, which seeks to bridge the financing gap for minigrid and distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects through innovative blended finance and credit enhancement structures.
Mr. Jonny Baxter, UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, said:
“We are delighted that the UK-funded Climate Finance Blending Facility, managed by InfraCredit, continues to catalyse local currency debt for renewable energy infrastructure. The CFBF model for financing distributed renewable energy remains central to achieving Nigeria’s energy transition and net-zero ambitions, and the UK is proud to support innovative financing that drives climate-resilient growth.”
Mr. Chinua Azubike, Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit, said:
“We are proud to support CEESOLAR, joining other indigenous distributed renewable energy developers we’ve enabled to access long-term, affordable local currency financing. This transaction demonstrates the power of partnership — combining catalytic first-loss capital from FCDO, bridge financing from NSIA through the Construction Finance Warehouse Facility, and InfraCredit’s guarantees, to unlock private investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.”
Mr. Chibueze Ekeh, Chief Executive Officer of CEESOLAR Energy Limited, said:
“This milestone reflects CEESOLAR’s commitment to bridging Nigeria’s energy gap through innovation and collaboration. With InfraCredit’s support, we are proving that clean energy solutions can be impactful, commercially viable, and sustainable. Every community we electrify is a step towards powering productivity, supporting women and small businesses, improving healthcare delivery, giving children a better chance at education, and building a future where energy access impacts lives.”
Mr. Olamide Niyi-Afuye , Chief Executive Officer of AMDA, said:
“This milestone underscores the growing confidence in the capacity of AMDA’s members to scale, and the power of local capital to drive sustainable energy access across the continent.”
The Project is registered under the World Bank Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) Performance Based Grant Programme administered by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The REA (https://rea.gov.ng/) is the official Government agency that promotes, coordinates and provides Rural Electrification across Nigeria.
InfraCredit signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in August 2022 with the REA to help eliminate long-term financing bottlenecks for off-grid operators in the energy sector by enabling credit enhancement and financing to private sector mini-grid developers to enable adequate power generation and supply to underserved and unserved areas.
The technical, legal, environmental, and social due diligence costs were supported by funding provided by FSD Africa under a Technical Assistance Agreement with InfraCredit to support first-time issuer costs for eligible projects that can issue climate-aligned local currency infrastructure debt.
About InfraCredit
InfraCredit (www.infracredit.ng) was established in 2017 as a first-of-its-kind ‘AAA’(NG) rated specialised local currency infrastructure credit guarantee institution, created to support long-term local currency infrastructure financing in Nigeria. InfraCredit’s guarantees enhance the credit quality of local currency debt instruments issued to finance eligible infrastructure-related assets.
Its guarantees serve as a catalyst to attract long-term domestic institutional capital from pension funds, insurance firms, and other investors, thereby deepening Nigeria’s debt capital markets. InfraCredit’s investors include the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (through PIDG and MOBILIST), KfW Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, and African Development Bank, alongside domestic pension funds and insurance firms.
As at April 2025, InfraCredit was listed as a public company and admitted to trading on the NASD. It maintains the highest domestic financial strength ratings accorded to any financial institution by Agusto & Co., Global Credit Ratings, and international rating agency, Fitch Ratings.
About CEESOLAR
CEESOLAR Energy Limited is a renewable energy company focused on providing energy access across Nigeria through renewable and decentralised energy systems. The Company commenced operations in 2017 and has installed a total capacity of 729.5kWp, consisting of mini grid installations and stand-alone solar for homes and businesses, with over 695 connections across Imo, Abia, Lagos, Cross River, Enugu, Bayelsa states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
About CFBF
The Climate Finance Blending Facility is a catalytic facility capitalised with USD21.3 million concessional funding by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (“FCDO”) and the British International Investment (“BIl”) to mobilise additional funding from development partners to co-finance off-grid clean energy investments alongside InfraCredit’s local currency guarantees in Nigeria.