Across Nigeria, access to reliable electricity remains one of the biggest barriers to economic growth. Despite being Africa’s largest economy, according to the World Bank, an estimated 85 million Nigerians lack access to grid electricity, giving the country the largest electricity access deficit in the world. Even for those connected to the grid, electricity supply remains inconsistent, with frequent outages affecting households and businesses.
As a result, petrol and diesel generators have become a primary source of energy, with an estimated 84% of urban households and 86% of businesses relying on them for power, according to the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria. This dependence comes at a high cost. Many households and small businesses spend between ₦4,000 and ₦10,000($2.97 -$7.43) daily on generator fuel, which translates to roughly ₦120,000 to ₦300,000 monthly ($89- $223), depending on usage patterns. For an average Nigerian, that causes a strain on their income. At a national level, Nigeria consumes an estimated $22 billion worth of fuel annually for self-generated power, with businesses alone accounting for approximately $14 billion of that spend. These costs have increased dramatically in the wake of the war in Iran.
This combination of unreliable infrastructure, high energy costs, and limited access to clean alternatives continues to constrain economic activity, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas where demand for consistent power is rapidly growing. This is the basis on which Kiru Energy was founded.
Kiru Energy is a Nigeria-based clean energy company providing solar power solutions for households and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Founded and incorporated in September 2019, Kiru Energy is focused on delivering reliable, cost-saving, and sustainable electricity to underserved energy users across the country.
Persistent has been working with Kiru Energy through the GET.invest Finance Readiness Support. This service is part of GET.invest – a European initiative mobilising investments in clean energy across Sub-Saharan Africa, co-funded by the European Union, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria. The GET.invest Finance Readiness Support is implemented by eight advisory firms, including Persistent.
In Nigeria, support is delivered through GET.invest Nigeria, a country window launched in October 2024 with funding from the European Union and Germany, which tailors the broader programme’s support to the local context and aims to unlock financing for sustainable energy projects and businesses.
Through this engagement, Persistent is supporting Kiru Energy in strengthening its financial planning, enhancing its investment readiness, and facilitating engagement with potential investors.
Through an integrated model that combines system design, procurement, installation, and ongoing maintenance, Kiru Energy enables customers to transition away from unreliable grid power and expensive fossil fuel generators toward dependable solar energy. It does this by offering solar panels and battery storage products. The company primarily serves households and SMEs, segments that are heavily impacted by energy unreliability but often lack access to affordable and scalable clean energy solutions. By focusing on these customers, Kiru Energy is positioning itself as a key player in Nigeria’s transition toward decentralized, clean energy systems.
Kiru Energy installs integrated solar panels and battery storage, allowing customers to generate electricity during the day and store power generated for use during outages or at night. The company has deployed a wide range of systems, from small-scale solutions starting at around 500W to larger commercial installations of up to 32kW, depending on customer needs. These systems are powered primarily by lithium batteries, which offer higher efficiency and a typical lifespan of 8 to 10 years.
This combination provides a more stable and predictable power supply while significantly reducing reliance on fuel-based alternatives. For many customers, this translates into meaningful cost savings, with Kiru Energy solutions delivering over 60% savings on energy costs compared to generator usage, and typical payback periods ranging between 6 to 18 months.
Kiru Energy’s end-to-end customer servicing approach gives it a level of flexibility and reliability that purely product-focused competitors struggle to replicate, and positions it to evolve into a service-driven business as it scales.
To serve different customer needs, Kiru has developed a range of tailored solutions:
Across its offerings, Kiru Energy combines flexible system design with both upfront and installment-based payment options. Kiru Energy stated that about 75% of their customers pay upfront; however, the company also provides financing plans ranging from 6 to 24 months, helping to lower the barrier to adoption for clean energy solutions.
What sets Kiru Energy apart from mainstream providers is its economic model, built with commercial discipline from the ground up. By keeping overheads low and ensuring that each installation is profitable, the company avoids the trap many early-stage solar businesses fall into: growing fast while burning through capital.
Kiru Energy’s impact is already visible through its growing deployment across Nigeria. Since launching operations, the company has delivered over 223 solar projects across 18 states, installing more than 350 kWp of solar capacity for households and businesses.
These systems generate approximately 1.5 MWh of clean electricity daily and contribute to an estimated 490 tonnes of CO₂ emissions avoided annually.
For customers, the most immediate impact is financial. By transitioning to solar, households and businesses are able to reduce their dependence on fuel, with Kiru’s solutions delivering over 60% savings on energy costs compared to generator usage. Coupled with the volatility of diesel fuel costs, this leads to more predictable energy expenses and improved long-term affordability. For small businesses, this also translates into improved uptime and more stable operations.
Beyond cost savings, reliable electricity enables broader economic participation. Businesses can operate longer hours, reduce disruptions, and better serve their customers, while households benefit from more consistent access to power for daily activities, education, and digital connectivity.
As Kiru Energy scales, its model has the potential to support broader economic activity while contributing to a more sustainable and resilient energy system in Nigeria.
Through Persistent’s engagement with Kiru Energy, the company has received targeted advisory support that has strengthened its business and positioned it for growth. Persistent worked closely with Kiru Energy to structure and refine its business model, operational approach, and overall processes, ensuring greater clarity, efficiency, and scalability.
A key area of support was investment readiness, with Persistent guiding the development of a robust financial model aligned with investor expectations. Beyond internal structuring, Persistent also facilitated strategic connections with microfinance institutions and commercial banks, which have played a critical role in financing solar deployments for Kiru Energy’s installment sales customers.
Through this continued support, Kiru Energy has successfully secured over €180,000 in grant funding, enabling the implementation and scale-up of its PawaBiz Project.
Kiru Energy would like to acknowledge Persistent’s Elie Bitar, Venture Builder, whose guidance has been instrumental to this progress. His support has extended beyond the programme, providing ongoing strategic input and strengthening Kiru’s journey toward scale and investment readiness.
Kiru Energy is led by a multidisciplinary team with expertise across engineering, finance, operations, and sales, bringing together the technical and commercial capabilities required to build and scale a clean energy business in Nigeria. The company’s journey began in 2017, when Kiru Energy was conceived by its founding team in response to Nigeria’s energy challenges. What started as a vision within a university setting evolved into a mission to build scalable clean energy solutions for Africa, driven by the belief that access to reliable electricity can unlock economic opportunity across the continent.
Benedict Okpala, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kiru Energy, has a background in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and over seven years of experience in the renewable energy sector. He co-founded the company to address the dual challenges of energy poverty and climate impact across Africa.
His vision extends beyond energy access to building resilient, climate-adaptive communities across Africa. Through Kiru Energy, he is advancing innovative financing models and technology-driven solutions designed for local market realities, enabling broader adoption of clean energy.