BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
MOPO, one of Africa's leading clean energy companies, has sealed a $75 million, approximately ₦120 billion deal with Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency, REA, to accelerate the development of its solar-powered battery rental network across the country.
The Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed in Abuja on Monday, is part of plans to invest up to $75 million in Nigeria by 2030. The partnership garners a set of joined-up activities, backed by data and convening, culminating in a new Nigeria Smart Battery Rental Programme.
With the support of the government, the company will fast-track a pilot phase targeted for December 2026, in order to scale energy access to those living with unreliable access to electricity.
MOPO's energy-as-a-service model gives low-income customers flexible, affordable access to power, renting portable batteries from community-based solar hubs rather than requiring customers to buy solar equipment outright or via loans.
Batteries range from entry-level units for lighting and phone charging to larger batteries that can power virtually all household and business appliances, even as MOPO is working assiduously to release a new set of battery and energy solutions in the near future.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu said that the Agency recognised that achieving universal energy access demands innovation that is affordable and scalable and that aligns with the President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Nigeria First’ Agenda.
“Through the Smart Battery Rental Programme, we are creating an enabling environment where investment delivers both electricity access and economic opportunity, accelerating Nigeria's energy transition portfolio into a competitive clean energy hub for Africa,” he added.
Under the memorandum of understanding, MOPO and REA will jointly design the Smart Battery Rental Programme, with a working group meeting expected to fasttrack the unveiling.
In addition, REA will support the regulatory framework for battery rental as an energy access tool, help connect the programme with government authorities and prospective financiers, while working to structure the pilot phase within its results-based finance schemes.
Nigeria has the largest energy access gap in the world, with more than 85 million people lacking access to electricity and millions more contending with unreliable supply. The Smart Battery Rental Programme is designed to complement the Federal Government's wider electrification efforts, including its commitments under Mission 300, the World Bank and African Development Bank initiative that aims to connect 300 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030.
The CEO of MOPO, Chris Longbottom said: “Today, MOPO delivers 1.6 million battery rentals a month, up from 150,000 in 2023. What makes MOPO unique is our ability to enter a community and immediately start putting energy in people's hands with no upfront costs and hyper-affordable daily rentals.
"REA's approach to energy access is genuinely forward-thinking, backing a wide range of tools, including battery rental, to reach Nigerians who need power."
The agreement comes during a period of rapid growth for MOPO across the continent. The company operates in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and has delivered more than 42 million battery rentals to date, over half of them in the last 18 months alone.
MOPO maintains 300 employees, spanning data science, engineering and beyond, and 2,000 agents, who rent batteries in their own communities, 99 percent in Africa and 45 percent in Nigeria.
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