MIGA Supports Private Renewable Energy Trading Platform in Nigeria

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2024 – The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group (MIGA) issued a guarantee of $16.29 million to Konexa Power Holdings PCC of Mauritius for its investments in Konexa Solar 1 Ltd. in Nigeria. The company is implementing a project that supports the decarbonization of industrial customers with highly reliable renewable energy sources through the installation of an energy storage system, distribution system upgrades, and interconnection of a new source of hydropower to be wheeled through the national grid.  The guarantee will cover the risks of expropriation, war and civil disturbance, including temporary business interruption, for up to 20 years.  

Located in the city of Kaduna, Nigeria, the project consists of the ownership, construction, operation, and maintenance of distributed energy systems to be installed at two Nigerian Breweries sites, which includes a site-specific uninterruptible power supply solution with battery storage. The project also includes the refurbishment, upgrade, extension, operation, and maintenance of existing 33kV lines within the Kaduna distribution network. The project will purchase electricity from the Gurara Hydro Power Plant and transmit it through the grid to Nigerian Breweries. It is expected to deliver an average of 20.5 GWh per year from renewable energy resources, displacing existing fossil fuel-based energy systems.  

This project represents the first for Konexa’s private renewable electricity trading platform and will help accelerate the Nigerian Breweries’ transition to reliable sources of renewable energy. The first project is expected to reduce emissions by over 8,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.    

“MIGA is supporting an important renewable project in Nigeria to provide reliable and affordable energy to industries,” said Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President. “Our guarantees are crucial in attracting private capital.” 

The IDA Private Sector Window will share the first loss layer, reducing the cost of the guarantee for the project. The project leverages foreign direct investment in support of an innovative approach to catalyzing renewable energy in Nigeria while displacing private sources of fossil-fuel-based power generation.     

This investment was supported by Climate Fund Managers (CFM), a climate-centric blended finance fund manager, and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. CFM invested through its Climate Investor One (CIO) fund, an EU-support blended finance facility focused on renewable energy infrastructure in emerging markets, which provided project development funding to Konexa for the Project with the construction stage funding provided by CIO and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund.  CFM also supported Konexa with the technical, financial, and ESG aspects of the project development.   

“We are delighted to have worked with MIGA on this transaction. Guarantees are an essential part of unlocking private capital into the Nigerian power sector. The MIGA team has been working with us tirelessly on this innovative trading model and the related structuring. This is now a model that can be replicated and scaled across the entire country,” said Pradeep Pursnani, CEO of Konexa. “The Konexa platform will be able to source and generate renewable power, making investments in transmission and distribution, and battery energy storage solutions, to help decarbonize the hard-to-abate commercial and industrial sector. This will help businesses transition to cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable power.” 

“At Microsoft, our long-term vision is to reach a state where, on all the world’s grids, 100% of our electricity, 100% of the time, is generated from zero-carbon sources and that clean power can reliably reach all customers,” said Brandon Middaugh, Senior Director, Climate Innovation Fund, Microsoft. “With this investment, Konexa’s technology will deliver firm, clean power to customers in sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating the impact of innovation and grid modernization.” 

Darron Johnson, Regional Head of Investments Africa at CFM said: “Historically, Nigeria has suffered from under-investment in its grid infrastructure, particularly when it comes to the distribution grid. Konexa’s trading platform will play a pivotal role in bridging this gap by efficiently connecting third party, and, in the future, its own renewable energy generation to commercial and industrial customers, helping them achieve reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable energy independence while strengthening and enhancing the sustainability of the national grid.” 

 Konexa, in collaboration with MIGA, will implement a gender action plan to narrow the gender gap in employment and leadership within its organization. The plan will take into consideration the socio-cultural and fragile political situation in Nigeria.  

About MIGA 

MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping to mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders. Since its creation, MIGA has issued over $76 billion in guarantees across 123 developing countries, supporting more than 1,000 projects. Over the past decade, MIGA’s guarantees have generated more than 156,000 jobs in developing countries.  

About Konexa 

Konexa is a distributed energy company that designs, develops, owns and operates renewables-based distributed energy systems across the spectrum including solar home systems, commercial and industrial mini-grids, solar PV power plants, and smart distribution systems.   

Konexa is a leader in the development and long-term management of integrated utility projects and renewable assets across Sub-Saharan Africa.  Konexa’s integrated distribution model is predicated on partnerships with existing utilities, disruptive technologies, public sector backing, and a customer value proposition for access to 24/7 reliable power for all.  Konexa’s interventions center around long-term investments into grid network assets, the roll out of cutting-edge smart metering technologies, deployment of off-grid solutions such as mini grids and solar home systems to serve unconnected populations, and the installation of renewable generation capacity where required.   

Contact: 

In Washington:  Elizabeth Howton, (202) 458-5922 or ehowton@worldbankgroup.org 

For more information, please visit: https://www.miga.org   

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