Sun King has secured an $80 million loan to accelerate its efforts to provide clean, reliable electricity to millions of Nigerians.
The loan, fully denominated in Naira, comes from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Stanbic IBTC Bank, making it the largest local-currency energy access loan ever arranged in West Africa.
The company is the world’s largest off-grid solar energy company. Formerly known as Greenlight Planet, it plans to use the loan to provide solar power to 4 million Nigerian homes over the next four to five years, building on the previous 2 million households.
A very key aspect of this deal is its structure in local currency, which eliminates foreign exchange risks for Sun King and allows the company to offer affordable payment options to customers. This will make solar energy more accessible to low-income and rural communities as they can spread payments over time with the pay-as-you-go model.
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The project is part of larger regional and global efforts to improve electricity access. It aligns with the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria and supports the Mission 300 initiative, a joint program by the World Bank and African Development Bank aiming to connect 300 million people in Africa to power by 2030.
According to Anish Thakkar, co-founder of Sun King, off-grid solar remains the fastest and most practical route to achieve universal electrification in Africa. Dahlia Khalifa, IFC’s Regional Director for Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa, noted that the investment would not only expand energy access but also support rural employment, productivity, and sustainable development.
Sun King’s move also complements Nigeria’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) program, which is designed to lower the cost for off-grid users through subsidies and encourage more private investment.
This latest facility follows similar achievements by Sun King, including a $75 million loan secured in Kenya.
