In Nigeria, where frequent grid blackouts are a part of daily life, a quiet revolution is unfolding. At its heart is Salpha Energy, a female-founded solar company turning ambition into action and affordable, reliable light.
With Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure strained to its limits, notably national grid failures and soaring diesel costs for backup generators, businesses and families have grappled with unreliable power for years.
The urgency for change has never been clearer.
Enter Salpha Energy.
Backed by a $1.3 million investment from Shell-backed impact investor All On, Salpha is not just another solar firm. It’s one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s few female-led solar assembly plants, assembling solar home systems designed for everyday people.
Built in Nigeria, for Nigeria
By assembling systems locally, Salpha ensures top-tier quality and cost control while creating crucial local jobs. From compact 150Wp solar kits to industrial 100kWp arrays paired with smart inverters and batteries, they’re adjusting their toolkit to cover household needs and business demands.
Lighting Lives, One Home at a Time
Already, Salpha claims its systems have impacted over 2 million lives across Nigeria. Imagine a small café in Lagos switching off its generator for good, or a rural home gaining reliable light and charging sockets, systems that now promise both empowerment and opportunity.
Pic courtesy of Disrupt Africa
More Than Power, Economic Uplift
The ripple effects are real. Blackouts cost Nigerian businesses nearly $22 billion annually, with generators numbering in the millions. Solar systems offer stable power and a chance to reduce operating costs, fueling productivity and growth for entrepreneurs and households alike.
Salpha’s all-in-one systems also cater to local needs, whether it’s a refrigerator in a village or consistent electricity for a remote school.
From Demand to Durable Access
Investments like these come at a time when African solar is gaining traction; home solar capacity across the continent has skyrocketed in recent years. Yet real impact depends on durability, local production, and repair-ready distribution. Salpha’s assembly model tackles all three.
A Reverse Flywheel of Opportunity
Salpha’s growth is a signal to the market: local solar manufacturing is viable and necessary. With increased funding, the company will scale up its assembly operations, introduce more product models, and deepen its footprint in underserved areas.
This is how scalable clean energy takes shape: funding, local production, and real-world demand form a reverse flywheel that draws in investment, talent, and impact.
What’s Next?
- Expansion across Nigeria: deeper rural reach, more jobs, stronger local economies.
- Regional ambitions: leveraging its assembly capacity to enter West African neighbors.
- Investor magnet: a successful female-led model could inspire broader support for gender-diverse energy ventures.
Salpha Energy’s story is more than a startup win; it’s a blueprint for Africa’s solar future. In dismantling barriers, designing systems locally, and putting power back in people’s hands, Salpha shows that real transformation begins with light.
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