The Rural Electrification Agency and Lotus Bank have moved to scale up renewable energy financing in Nigeria with plans to establish a dedicated funding facility under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme.
In a statement on Sunday, the REA said the development followed a high-level meeting between both institutions recently, marking a shift from project-by-project financing to a structured, large-scale financial framework aimed at accelerating energy access nationwide.
Speaking during the engagement, the Managing Director of the REA, Abba Aliyu, urged Lotus Bank to adopt a bold and deliberate approach by setting a clear global funding target for the proposed facility. He stressed that Nigeria’s energy transition would only achieve meaningful impact if financing moved beyond pilot projects to support rapid developer scale-up.
Aliyu said the new facility must be backed by strong internal standards and a design that enables renewable energy developers to expand operations quickly across underserved and unserved communities.
“That level of intentionality is exactly what the sector needs if we are serious about moving from pilots to impact at scale,” he stated.
Lotus Bank, which has already supported several DARES-linked projects, is expected under the new arrangement to institutionalise its commitment by creating a standalone financing window dedicated to renewable energy deployment.
The partnership reflects a growing shift among Nigerian financial institutions, which are increasingly recognising renewable energy not merely as a social intervention but as a commercially viable and bankable sector.
The statement added that both organisations are currently working towards the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to formalise the collaboration. The MoU is expected to unlock structured capital capable of significantly accelerating the rollout of clean energy solutions across rural and peri-urban areas.
The REA expressed optimism that the initiative would serve as a blueprint for other commercial banks, helping to mobilise private-sector investment and close Nigeria’s persistent energy access gap through sustainable financing models.
“Both organisations are now working toward the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding to institutionalise the partnership. This agreement is expected to provide the structured capital necessary to accelerate the deployment of clean energy solutions to underserved and unserved communities nationwide.
“The REA remains optimistic that this collaboration will serve as a model for other commercial banks, building the necessary momentum to bridge Nigeria’s energy deficit through sustainable, private-sector-led investment,” the statement concluded.
