Arnergy Completes USD 18 M Series B For Solar Push Amid Nigeria’s Energy Hikes

Nigerian cleantech startup Arnergy has secured an additional USD 15 M in Series B funding, extending last year’s USD 3 M raise to a total of USD 18 M for the round.

The funding, led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, British International Investment, Norfund, EDFI MC, and All On, will fuel Arnergy’s goal of deploying over 12,000 solar systems by 2029. Argenergy was previously backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures (the firm led Arnergy’s USD 9 M Series A in 2019.)

Arnergy, founded in 2013 by Femi Adeyemo, is tapping into a wave of demand for solar energya in Nigeria, driven by worsening grid reliability and skyrocketing fuel prices following the government’s removal of petrol subsidies in May 2023. With generator fuel costs up nearly 500%, solar has gone from a resilience solution to a clear cost-saving alternative.

The company’s shift to lease-to-own solar systems, branded Z Lite, has been key to that adoption. In contrast to 2022, when outright purchases made up 70% of sales, lease-to-own now dominates. Customers are locking into fixed monthly payments that undercut diesel and grid tariffs, with many expanding capacity or going fully off-grid.

Arnergy has deployed over 1,800 systems across 35 Nigerian states, totalling 9MWp of solar and 23MWh of storage, and plans to scale through retail partnerships and energy-as-a-service offerings for multinationals. It’s also eyeing Francophone Africa for expansion and local debt financing to support growth.

However, the company faces a policy challenge: a proposed ban on solar panel imports. While Adeyemo supports boosting local manufacturing, he warns that without sufficient production capacity and regulatory clarity, such a move could cripple the solar industry just as adoption accelerates.

“We’re pro-local manufacturing,” said Adeyemo. “But if we ban imports too soon, we risk setting back an industry that millions now rely on.”