Project Description
In Nigeria, 65% of the population, or 104 million people do not have access to electricity. The situation is even more acute in rural areas with only 16% grid access rates. In addition, 40% of the population is 'under-electrified' i.e. having less than
12 hours of grid power per day.
The WBG through the Lighting Africa Program in Nigeria aims to increase access to better, cleaner and safer off-grid lighting to the rural populations not connected to the grid. The program will accelerate the development
of the markets for modern off-grid lighting products.
The program will accomplish this by undertaking a number of market development activities:
-Market Intelligence: to help product marketers and distributors understand the new off-grid lighting market
segment, supply and distribution chains. The insights from the research serve to inform their business and strategic plans.
-Quality Assurance: promoting the adoption of Lighting Global quality standards across the sector to counter the risk of market
spoilage
from the infiltration of low quality products that erodes confidence in the new off-grid technologies among consumers, financiers and stakeholders.
-Access to finance: Adequate financing along the entire supply chain has been identified as being
critical
for the growth of the off-grid lighting market. The program will develop financing facilities through financial institutions to meet the demand from the market.
-Consumer Education: creating awareness, for a market to grow and thrive, consumers
must know
what products are available and understand the value and benefits of these products over what the consumers are currently using (kerosene and candles). Consumers must also be able to distinguish between good and poor quality products in order
to get good value
for their scarce resources.
-Business Development Support: provide a range of market and business development support activities directly to manufacturers, distributors and retailers under this component with the objective of fostering
competition and creating
a vibrant and competitive market that will extend distribution to the rural areas.