Salpha Energy, the trailblazing winner of the 2024 Ashden Award for Energy Innovation (Global South), aims to revolutionise the energy sector in Nigeria by offering clean, reliable, and affordable products. Founder and CEO Sandra Chukwudozie talks to Pin Africa about their ambitious plans for expansion and transformative growth.
Energy poverty remains a pressing global issue, affecting billions. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates over “750 million people have no access to electricity, and 2.6 billion people continue to lack access to clean cooking technologies”, representing roughly 40 percent of the world’s population. Nowhere is this challenge more acute than in Africa. According to Lighting Global, in 2020, 77 percent of the world’s population without electricity—about 568 million people—lived in Sub-Saharan Africa. Those affected often rely on solid biomass, coal, or kerosene for cooking, which are harmful to both human health and the environment.
In Nigeria, nearly half of the 200 million population lacks reliable access to electricity, with the Niger Delta region severely impacted. Salpha Energy is at the forefront of addressing this burden, offering innovative and affordable solar energy solutions that transform lives and communities. By producing high-quality solar products locally and providing flexible payment plans, Salpha makes clean energy accessible to low-income households and small businesses. This holistic strategy alleviates energy poverty, promotes gender inclusivity, and fosters economic empowerment. Through in-house training and mentorship programmes, Salpha empowers women in technical and engineering roles, fostering sustainable development and a brighter future for the people it serves.
Pin Africa: How would you describe the state of energy poverty in the regions you serve in Nigeria, and how is Salpha Energy working to address this issue?
Sandra Chukwudozie: Nigeria is one of the largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet it faces a significant energy challenge, with approximately half of its 200 million population lacking access to electricity. The national grid, which is 85 percent reliant on fossil fuels, is notoriously unreliable. As a result, many people resort to using small petrol generators as backups.
There’s a pressing need for a clean, reliable, and affordable energy service, particularly in the Niger Delta, characterised by poverty and a history of conflict related to oil production and inadequate wealth distribution. It also suffers from a severe electricity deficit. Due to these challenging conditions, the Niger Delta has been largely neglected by most off-grid energy service providers.
Salpha Energy is a leading provider of solar energy solutions in Nigeria, offering homes and small businesses a simple, affordable way to pay for solar energy. Through our solar system assembly facility we produce affordable and high-quality solar products locally, with a production capacity of 300,000 systems per year. This initiative reduces costs and ensures quicker deployment to underserved regions.
Additionally, we make solar energy accessible to low-income households by offering flexible payment plans, allowing them to pay for electricity in small, manageable instalments. Salpha Energy is also pioneering opportunities for women. Through our assembly factory, we actively attract women, particularly in technical and engineering roles, and provide in-house training and mentorship programmes to upskill traditionally overlooked candidates. This holistic approach not only promotes sustainable energy solutions but also fosters gender inclusivity and economic empowerment.
What specific services and solutions does Salpha offer to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy?
Salpha sets itself apart by offering a range of solar systems capable of supporting businesses as well as households. The system was designed by Salpha’s in-house team and is assembled in Nigeria. Our solar generator is designed to be installed by the customer and includes a solar panel, a lithium battery, power sockets, an inverter, LED lights, a mobile phone charger and the associated electronics, boxing and cabling. It provides sufficient power to use lights, mobile phone charging, TV, fan, and similar appliances simultaneously. The system is certified by Lighting Global, an international accreditor of solar lighting quality.
For businesses, we design and install customised solar energy solutions that reduce operational costs and ensure uninterrupted power supply. Examples of this include solar installations for businesses, hospitals, and public institutions.
To enable us to support agricultural activities, we are piloting solar-powered water pumps. These pumps provide a sustainable solution for irrigation, helping farmers increase productivity without relying on expensive and unreliable fuel-based systems.
How does Salpha ensure the affordability of its energy products? What schemes and incentives do you offer that differentiate you from other energy providers in the marketplace?
One of the things we have done at Salpha is adopt an innovative approach to payment and marketing. We partnered with leading financial institutions and cooperatives with extensive reach across Nigeria. Salpha has made significant strides in addressing the energy needs of previously overlooked customers who are unbanked and have no credit history. Through these partnerships, customers can now access hassle-free financing, allowing them to purchase solar products on a loan basis and repay over a period of six to 12 months. For example, a small business owner in a rural area can now obtain a solar system through one of our partner cooperatives, repay the loan over a year, and benefit from reliable electricity without the high upfront costs. This approach not only promotes financial inclusion but also ensures that sustainable energy solutions are accessible to a broader segment of the population.
Can you measure and describe the impact Salpha has had in alleviating energy poverty in the regions where you operate in Nigeria?
Over the past seven years, Salpha has been able to measure its impact in the communities it serves. These include:
Salpha’s quantitative impact:
- Household electrified: Over 1,500,000 people have gained access to reliable solar energy, improving their quality of life.
- Energy capacity installed: Installed more than 6.7 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity across various regions, providing consistent and clean energy.
- Reduction in carbon emissions: Salpha’s solar solutions have reduced carbon emissions by over 4 million tons, contributing to a cleaner environment.
- Job creation: Created over 1050 direct and indirect jobs, supporting local economies and fostering community development.
- Financial inclusion: Through Salpha’s partnerships with financial institutions, we have facilitated access to affordable financing for more than 30,000 low-income households, enabling a robust financial inclusion approach.
“For Salpha Energy, the Ashden recognition not only enhances our credibility but also aligns perfectly with our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Salpha’s qualitative impact:
- An enhanced quality of life for the people we serve: There is access to reliable electricity which has improved educational outcomes, as students can study after dark, and it has enhanced the overall quality of life by powering essential household appliances.
- Increased economic empowerment: Small businesses can now operate longer hours, leading to increased productivity and income. For instance, local shops and artisans have reported a 40 percent increase in their earnings.
- Visible health benefits: By replacing kerosene lamps with solar lighting, Salpha has been able to help respiratory issues associated with indoor air pollution. Families report better health and reduced medical expenses.
- Community Development: Salpha has fostered growth by creating a solar energy ecosystem in the Niger Delta, encompassing local assembly, sales, installation, equipment maintenance and partnerships for asset financing. Thereby empowering local communities, leveraging their skills to further catalyse sustainable development and foster prosperity in the region.
Salpha recently won the Ashden Award for Energy Innovation in the Global South category in London. How important are recognitions like the Ashden Awards to the work Salpha is doing, especially in alignment with the SDG goals?
Recognitions like the Ashden Awards are crucial to our work at Salpha Energy, as they validate our efforts and amplify our impact. Collaboration is key to unleashing our full potential, and we are constantly seeking partners who share our vision to drive the energy sector forward. This recognition, particularly in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 7—access to sustainable and clean energy—provides powerful evidence of the real-world impact of delivering this SDG.
The Ashden Awards, established in 2001, demonstrate how sustainable energy can transform lives. Over the past 18 years, they have built an impressive track record of recognising and scaling enterprises with innovative solutions and business models at the forefront of the global energy revolution. Winning an Ashden Award offers us business support, introductions to investors, and opportunities to connect with influential audiences, including policymakers and the media. These connections and networks of learning enable us to reach even more people and drive substantial progress in our mission.
For Salpha Energy, the Ashden recognition not only enhances our credibility but also aligns perfectly with our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). This accolade helps us to continue innovating, expanding our reach, and making a significant difference in the lives of the communities we serve.
What are your future plans for addressing energy poverty in Africa, and what strategies do you have in place to execute these plans?
The market in Nigeria is enormous and there is unrelenting demand for solar energy. Over the next three years, Salpha is aiming to reach five million people in Nigeria, and to reach one million people through expansion in other markets in Africa, targeting regions with high energy poverty rates. We will invest in research and development to bring more efficient and cost-effective solar technologies to the market. We will also expand our training programmes to empower more local communities with the skills needed to maintain and manage solar installations. We hope and aim to further collaborate with international organisations, governments, NGOs, and private sector partners to leverage resources, knowledge, and networks.
This article is in collaboration with the Ashden Awards
