Lumos obtains USD 35m in financing for solar expansion in Nigeria

Africa-focused off-grid solar installer Lumos has received USD 35 million (EUR 29.4m) in financing from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to fuel growth in Nigeria.

The company said today that the funding will allow it to produce an additional 160,000 solar home systems (SHS) for households and small businesses across Nigeria.

Lumos’ systems are used to power bulbs, cell phones, fans, computers, TVs and other electronic devices in exchange for an initial down payment by the client, followed by monthly instalments.

In addition to Nigeria, which is its main market, Lumos is also present in Cote d’Ivoire, where it was recently supported financially by Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO to expand its local customer base. The company expects to enter a new African market soon.

Lumos says that most of its monthly income comes from existing customers which has limited the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s business. In China, Lumos' manufacturing was affected during the first quarter of the year, but it fully recovered in April-June 2020, the company told Renewables Now.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.841)

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