Husk Power Systems secures $750K from DEG to expand solar microgrid in Nigeria and India
Husk Power Systems has obtained money from Germany’s DEG, a development finance organization, to support the expansion of the company’s India operations as well as the construction of 8 additional community solar microgrids in Nigeria.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development co-finances DEG’s Up-Scaling Program, which is where the money were allotted from. Husk successfully closed a $10.3 million debt from EDFI-ElectriFI and IREDA in 2022 to develop more than 200 microgrids in India, and now it has been approved for a $749,000, 5-year loan.
Access to affordable loans is vital for developing solar microgrids in Nigeria, where 90 million people live without access to electricity, says Manoj Sinha, co-founder and CEO of Husk. With the help of this finance, Husk will have a strong basis on which to access future debt, including debt denominated in local currency.
The DEG financing is Husk’s first debt financing for its operations in Nigeria, where it presently has 12 operating microgrids and plans to develop 500 by 2026. More than 500 residential and business users will be connected by Nigeria’s 8 microgrids, 400 diesel generators would be used less frequently, and roughly 40 new direct local jobs will be generated.
Husk is exactly the kind of company we’re looking for at the Up-Scaling Program, which supports innovative greentech business models in emerging markets that demonstrate high development impact and a significant reduction in carbon emissions, says Petra Kotte, Head of Banking and German Business Division, DEG.
