British International Investment (BII), the UK development finance institution, announced a $7 million debt facility for Okra Solar on October 28, 2026. The financing will help the off-grid energy technology supplier buy equipment for around 150,000 new electricity connections, primarily in rural Nigeria.
Okra Solar develops mesh-grid systems that allow neighbouring homes and small businesses to share locally generated and stored power. Its technology combines solar panels, batteries and smart controls, providing a model for communities beyond conventional distribution networks. The company supplies both the equipment and the management software to developers responsible for connecting customers.
The BII facility addresses a working-capital constraint in that business model. Okra had often ordered components after a developer signed a project contract, leaving equipment procurement and shipping on the critical path to installation. The new debt financing will allow the company to buy panels, batteries and other components in larger quantities and hold stock ahead of new projects. Delivery times to Nigeria could fall from about four months to roughly two, according to figures released with the announcement.
Equipment for 150,000 planned connections
The financing could ultimately support electricity access for about 750,000 people, according to the transaction’s backers. Okra reports that its technology already serves more than 13,000 households, with installed capacity above 2.3 megawatts. The planned new connections would represent a significant expansion in the scale of deployments by its operating partners.
Such developers generally have to finance components before they begin earning revenue from connected customers. Nigeria’s World Bank-backed Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, known as DARES, offers results-based support for verified new connections. Faster equipment procurement could therefore help developers install systems sooner and receive payments tied to completed connections earlier.