Nigeria is the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world, but local startup Lihon Energy is aiming to address this by rolling out solar-powered micro-grid provision for commercial and industrial clients.
Launched in January, Lihon Energy makes use of a variety of technologies to deliver reliable, stable, safe and affordable power supply to commercial and industrial users. Its approach is a custom-made design after a detailed assessment of an individual client’s power needs.
“We only offer solutions that beat your current cost of power generation. In designing our solutions, we take a life-cycle view as sustainability is essential to us,” Hakeem Disu, the startup’s CEO, told Disrupt Africa.
“We also offer a system that allows people to buy solar systems now and pay later, empowering Africans to own through our smart installment payment.”
Enabling access to such energy is important. According to the World Bank, only 57 per cent of Nigeria’s population in 2021 had access to grid electricity, leaving over 100 million people without access to electricity.
This makes Nigeria the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world. Disu said Lihon Energy was playing its part in fixing this problem, and the startup has completed 25 projects in its nine months of existence so far. It is a question of being in the right place at the right time.
“The uptake of solar energy in Nigeria is gradually increasing. Nigeria has significant solar energy potential due to its abundant sunlight and the increase in fuel pricing as made many Nigerians turn to solar energy,” Disu said.
“The Nigerian government has also been making efforts to promote solar energy through initiatives like the National Renewable Energy Action Plan, and the president also approved a new act that allows individual citizens to generate and distribute electricity.”
Lihon Energy, which monetises via installation fees and interest charged on its payment plans, is for now fully focused on the potentially massive Nigerian energy market.
“We are working to customise lithium-powered solar portable generators, that will be moveable to anywhere, easy to power, and easy to use,” Disu said.
“It as been a beautiful ride, because the market we are operating in has a huge energy demand.”
