The Rural Electrification Agency and partners have launched the Green Finance Investment Facility, a $188 million blended finance platform to fund 191 megawatts of distributed solar capacity across Nigeria.
Led by Barton Heyman Limited with REA, UK PACT, First City Monument Bank and ARM Harith Infrastructure Investment Limited, the facility targets households, communities and businesses underserved by the national grid.
It supports the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up programme aimed at expanding electricity access through decentralised solutions.
The platform was launched May 7, 2026, in Lagos, bringing together banks, developers, policymakers and development finance institutions to close financing gaps in Nigeria’s clean energy sector.
Olumide Lala, Managing Partner at Barton Heyman Limited, said the facility uses a market-driven model to unlock private capital at scale.
He added: “The Green Finance Investment Facility is more than a financing arrangement; it represents direct support for over one million Nigerians,” Lala said. “This is our first step to raise $40 billion to finance 20 gigawatts of distributed renewable energy.”
Anthony Feyitimi, Senior Partner at Barton Heyman, said the platform combines sovereign pipelines, results-based funding and commercial capital into a replicable facility. “Every megawatt we finance is a business that can operate, a supply chain that can function, a community that can compete,” he said.
REA Managing Director Abba Aliyu said the facility addresses access to finance, a key barrier to renewable energy deployment.
He added that GFIF replaces fragmented, project-by-project funding with a scalable system to give developers reliable access to capital.
FCMB has committed N100 billion in debt financing for DARES and is funding over 15 developers under the isolated mini-grid Performance-Based Grant programme, said George Ogbonnaya, Senior VP and Divisional Head, Business Banking Group. The bank has financed more than 42 mini-grid projects and aims to connect over 2 million households.
Derek Chime, CIO at ARMHIIL, called for deeper collaboration to unlock more investment. UK PACT’s Deputy Head of Mission Simon Field reaffirmed UK support for green finance frameworks in Nigeria.
Lagos State Special Adviser on Climate Change Titilayo Oshodi said coordinated investment and policy support are critical to accelerating energy access.
Stakeholders said initiatives like GFIF are key to mobilising long-term capital, reducing risk and scaling clean energy deployment nationwide.