VenturesNow

Rensource Energy raises €500,000 to solve Nigeria’s electricity problem

Nigeria’s Rensource Energy, has raised €500,000 to contribute to solving Nigeria’s problem with electricity by helping small and medium-sized enterprises to replace the heavy usage of fossil fuel-powered generators with solar systems

Published

6 years ago

August 2, 2018

Africa News Watch

This loan from investors on Trine will provide at least 4,000 shops in Nigeria access to electricity. Founded in 2015 with over 1500 customers, Rensource’s aim is to make Nigeria the first country in the world to rely predominantly on distributed, renewables-based power generation.

In January this year, Rensource Energy raised $3.5 million in bridge financing to hire more personnel, expand operations into Kano and Abuja, and expand its its product base.The round was led by Mauritius Amaya Capital Partners with participation from Omidyar Network and South Africa’s CRE Venture Capital.

The firm previously raised a $1.1 million led by CRE Venture Capital and Sissili Limited and was also part of the XL-Africa acceleration program.

In total, the firm has raised $5.5 million in external equity since 2016 from shareholders, such as Bamboo Capital and Amaya Capital who both have made significant investments in the renewable energy sector.

The power-as-a-service subscription based energy service uses solar-hybrid systems that gets installed at the customer, generating and storing electricity.

The firm works as power as a service on a subscription model where the customer pays a monthly fee and Rensource provides equipment, power and maintenance.

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VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

4 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.