Sun King Secures $80M Loan to Expand Off-Grid Solar Access in Nigeria

Sun King Co-Founders: Patrick Walsh and Anish Thakkar

Sun King has secured an $80 million loan facility to accelerate access to off-grid solar energy in Nigeria, enabling households and small businesses to adopt clean, reliable power without prohibitive upfront costs.

The facility, structured by IFC and Stanbic IBTC Bank, blends public and private capital to facilitate local currency loans through Sun King’s pay-as-you-go model while mitigating foreign exchange risks. By allowing customers to pay in small installments, this approach enhances affordability and capital efficiency, particularly for low-income and rural consumers.

Anish Thakkar, Co-Founder of Sun King, emphasized the importance of off-grid solar in expanding energy access across Africa: “Off-grid solar provides the fastest and most scalable pathway to universal electrification across Africa. This investment exemplifies the kind of bold, all-hands-on-deck approach required to deliver reliable, affordable energy to millions at the pace Mission 300 calls for. With structured financing tailored to local needs, we can dismantle affordability barriers and scale up the proven impact of off-grid solar solutions. We commend IFC and Standard Bank for their leadership in advancing sustainable energy access.”

Sun King, a leading provider of off-grid solar solutions, designs, distributes, and finances solar systems across more than 40 countries. With a vast network of 29,500 agents across Africa, the company has sold over 27 million solar products—including cost-effective solar home systems that power multi-room lighting and phone charging, as well as high-capacity rooftop solar systems that deliver grid-equivalent energy.

Through flexible pay-as-you-go options, customers repay the cost of solar systems over 12 to 24 months via daily, weekly, or monthly installments, with payments as low as $0.21 per day via mobile money or cash. This model lowers financial barriers to clean energy and broadens access among underserved communities. To date, Sun King has provided $1.2 billion in loans to customers across Africa.

In Nigeria, where nearly 40% of the population lacks reliable electricity, demand for affordable solar solutions continues to grow rapidly. This facility will support Sun King’s expansion, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.

Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa, underscored the broader impact of the investment: “Millions of Nigerians still live without reliable access to electricity, which limits opportunity and undermines resilience. This investment enables scalable local-currency solutions that empower households and businesses with clean, affordable solar power. Beyond energy access, it supports rural employment, boosts productivity, and brings us closer to our shared goal of inclusive, sustainable development.”

The investment aligns with Nigeria’s Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank Group and contributes to Mission 300, a 2025 initiative with the African Development Bank aimed at expanding electricity access across Africa.

IFC’s financing package includes a $25 million senior concessional loan from the Canada-IFC Africa Renewable Energy Program, which helps spur private sector financing for climate change solutions, especially innovative and early-stage projects in emerging markets.

In parallel, the Nigerian government and the World Bank are rolling out the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) Program, a results-based subsidy initiative designed to reduce costs for off-grid solar users—complementing this private-sector-led effort.

The facility falls under Sun King’s Sustainable Financing Framework, which has earned a ‘Very Good’ Sustainable Quality Score from Moody’s, recognizing its strong contribution to climate and sustainability goals.

Oladele Sotubo, CE of Stanbic Bank IBTC Capital Ltd, highlighted the partnership’s transformative impact: “At Stanbic IBTC, we are proud to strengthen our partnership with Sun King through this transformative $80 million facility, which will empower millions of Nigerians with access to clean, reliable, and affordable solar energy who would otherwise struggle to access power. This collaboration underscores our commitment to fostering innovative solutions that address critical energy challenges in Nigeria while driving economic growth and improving the quality of life for underserved communities. By enabling households and small businesses to access solar power through flexible financing options, we are helping to build a more inclusive and sustainable future for Nigeria.”