The demand for solar power in power-starved Nigeria has risen over the past decade thanks to the exacerbation of the reliability of the timetable and rising fuel costs. This is an interest in investors Arnessa cleaning meeting needed. The company has just raised a range of $ 15 million expansion (at the top of a $ 3 million B1 last year), which brought its total to $ 18 million for the round.

The increase in demand for solar systems follows significant policy shifts, especially the Removing the decades-old fuel subsidy of Nigeria In May 2023 (the decision of the government – which has long been debated – ended his practice of covering the gap between global and local fuel prices).

Since then, petrol prices have jumped nearly 500%, which made generators, which were once seen as the more affordable alternative to unreliable network and solar systems despite environmental hazards, much more expensive to manage.

Arnergy’s pitch has changed with the Times. ‘When we started the business, we placed solar energy as a way to get uninterrupted power, not necessarily to save money. It was not part of a commercial conversation, ‘founder and CEO Femi adeyemo Tell TechCrunch. “Now it is, because we can clearly show customers how our systems save them monthly, whether using gasoline, diesel or even the network.”

In 2013, Adeyemo launched Arnergy to provide solar systems to homes and businesses in sectors such as hospitality, education, finance, agriculture and healthcare.

What started as a resilience is now a cost -saving strategy that changes the economy of adoption for the Cleantech supported by supported Bill Gates’ breakthrough energy companies (The firm has led Arnergy’s range of $ 9 million a in 2019.)

Rent-to-own increasing adoption

The adoption is most clear in the company’s rent-to-own product, Z litewhich became a core focus after Arnergy’s first series B -Tranche last year.

While direct purchases make up 60% to 70% of turnover in 2023, they were only 25% of sales last year. On the other hand, rent-to-own, where customers paid fixed monthly fees over 5 to 10 years before owning the system, gained more traction.

One reason for this change is affordability compared to electricity tariffs. Until recently, many people have considered long-term leases more expensive than running diesel or petrol generators. But with diesel prices rising rising post-subsidies removal and timetable rates-especially to a new government policy last April last year that tripled costs for electricity for customers with the most stable power—Leen-to-own solar power is popular among customers, says Adeyemo.

“Imagine paying ₦ 200,000 (~ $ 125) every month for power. With our product, it drops to ₦ 96,000 (~ $ 60). In five years, it’s a no-brainer you’ll save,” the CEO said. He added that many existing customers return to double their solar ability or, as a result, turn off the timetable.

Arnergy tripled its lease between 2023 and 2024 and expected to grow it 4-5x this year. Naira income has climbed accordingly and is on track by the end of the year to celebrate fourfold.

On the other hand, dollar revenue due to currency valuation remained flat, but Adeyemo said the company was building FX income by dollar-denominated B2B2C partnerships and potential expansion to Francophone Africa.