Arnergy, a Nigerian distributed utility company, has announced raising $9 million in Series A round of funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund), ElectriFI, and All On.

The distributed renewable energy systems offered by the company integrate solar power, storage solutions, and remote management technologies that are equipped to tackle power intermittency and grid unreliability.

“We are excited to enter this next phase in Arnergy’s development with investors that share our vision of tackling the most pressing energy challenges across emerging market economies, starting with Nigeria. We believe that energy needs in Nigeria have surpassed rudimentary requirements of low power utilization and our product offerings are solving for reliability and not just access,” said Femi Adeyemo, founder, and CEO of Arnergy.

Arnergy has delivered over 2 MW of distributed solar capacity and over 5 MWh of storage capacity to business and residential clients across Nigeria.

The influx of new capital will be utilized by the company to include new business models and partnership opportunities, besides consumer financing and channel expansion activities. Targeted verticals will include small businesses, healthcare, hospitality, financial services, agribusiness, and education, according to Arnergy.

Lately, Africa has become the hotbed of renewable energy investments, with numerous financial institutions allocating funds for the promotion and expansion of both on-grid and off-grid solar installations.

Last year, the African Development Bank (AfDB) had approved a $1.5-million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to support the Nigerian government’s implementation of Phase 1 of the Jigawa 1 GW Independent Power Producer Solar Procurement Program.

According to Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), “Creating accessibility to reliable renewable energy sources is paramount to economic growth in this region. With Arnergy’s technology, we can significantly decrease carbon emissions, and it’s a model that can be replicated all over the developing world.”

BEV invests in companies that leverage innovative technologies to help address climate change.

“Access to clean and stable energy is a prerequisite for job creation and development. Norfund is proud to support the expansion of Arnergy which will provide Nigerian households and businesses on a weak-grid connection with a cheaper, cleaner and more reliable power solution to meet their daily needs,” said Mark Davis, EVP Clean Energy from Norfund, a company owned by the Government of Norway.

Earlier this year, the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria had issued a Request for Qualification for 15 MW of ground-mounted solar projects with a 5 MW battery energy storage system at the University of Benin (UNIBEN). The university, which is in Benin city, is located in Nigeria’s Edo State.

Previously, Mercom reported that Greenlight Planet, a solar home energy company, raised $60 million in funding, from a group of investors led by London-based private equity fund manager Apis Partners. Greenlight Planet announced that the company would use the debt and equity capital to expand its solar-energy product lines, distribution networks, and financing capabilities in Africa and Asia.