The Covid-19 pandemic has had significant impact across all sectors including access to electricity. The Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sector that provides decentralized energy access to users although equally hit by the pandemic can take advantage of new opportunities for the industry to thrive and grow. With the right support, funding and enabling environment, DRE solutions can become mainstream and play their part to improve access for the 789 million people still lacking electricity. 



Mama Esther has lived in my hometown in Eastern Nigeria for most of her life. She is a small-scale ‘Nsukka’ (yellow peppers) farmer who would typically harvest a few baskets of pepper, some tomatoes and other perishable products daily.



My village has not had grid electricity for more than 30 years and the closest to any form of such are the&nbsp;poles which once had cables connected to them. Towards the end of each market day, Mama Esther will have to sell her products at giveaway prices, barter some of it while the rest will go to waste because the lack of electricity supply means the products cannot be stored.



Mama Esther, just like other small-scale farmers, tends to lose a large percentage of her produce due to the lack of electricity for processing and storage. She remains a small-scale farmer, unable to escape the poverty trap as she cannot transition into producing higher value agricultural products to increase her disposable income, or at the very least maximize her income by reducing losses.



This inadequate access to electricity affects most aspects of life in developing countries – childbirth in poorly lit hospitals, inability to store blood and vaccines safely, children who are forced to study using candlelight, businesses who are unable to operate for longer hours to increase their profitability, and much more.&nbsp; While the Covid-19 pandemic has made these situations more dire, it presents an opportunity for Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) companies to make a positive impact.



DRE during a pandemic&nbsp;



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ren21.net/gsr-2016/chapter03.php" target="_blank">Distributed Renewable Energy</a> companies have been providing customers with power, cooking, heating and cooling systems that generate and distribute energy independently of the centralized grid systems over the last few years and currently serve over <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.gogla.org/sites/default/files/resource_docs/global_off_grid_solar_market_report_h22019.pdf" target="_blank">100 million</a> people in both urban and rural areas of the developing world, and these numbers continue to increase annually.



Reports by The Economist and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2020/Apr/IRENA_Global_Renewables_Outlook_2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IRENA Global Renewables Outlook 2020</a>&nbsp;highlighted that the outbreak of coronavirus has had significant impacts on the energy transition, particularly threatening global supply chains in the renewable energy sector.



Indeed DRE companies are facing their share of the Covid-19 induced challenges;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seforall.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/SEforALL-survey-findings-20200417.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surveys conducted by SEforAll</a>&nbsp;shows that they are expecting to lose between 27% to 40% of their revenues in the coming months. In addition, their growth plans are likely compromised, and they have to take precautions to protect their staff and customers. They continue to advocate for ‘essential service’ status to enable them meet the needs of their customers and closely monitor their inventory given the impact of the virus in key component manufacturing countries.



DRE evolving under pressure &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



While concerns remain that the pandemic has slowed down some of the progress that off-grid energy companies have made in the last few years, a closer look shows that the DRE sector is able to continue improving access to electricity by leveraging some of the resulting effects of the crisis.



DRE becoming mainstream as the solution of choice to complement bad grids or inadequate supplies: In regions where the electricity grid is unreliable or even non-existent, the Covid-19 pandemic added a strain to the requirements for reliable energy for health facilities, essential enterprises, citizens sheltering and working from home, and vulnerable communities. In these regions, DRE systems are increasingly serving as a complement to the centralized/ grid energy generation systems, or as a substitute. They provide <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.irena.org/documentdownloads/publications/renewable_power_generation_costs.pdf" target="_blank">an often cheaper alternative</a> and sometimes provide the entire energy requirements for essential facilities.In fact, utilities are now receptive to the option of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://businessday.ng/energy/power/article/mini-grid-operator-gve-partners-abuja-disco-to-provide-independent-power-to-wuse-market/" target="_blank">partnering with DRE developers</a> like mini-grid companies through the increasingly popular <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/rmi-undergrid-report.pdf" target="_blank">&#8220;under the grid&#8221;</a> models. The <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/04/22/as-rea-powers-isolation-with-solar-energy/" target="_blank">speed of deployment especially during the pandemic</a> has been important, with installations within a few weeks, coupled with the plug and play nature of some solar home systems. Through simplicity, nimbleness, and mutually beneficial collaborations, DRE companies are becoming a popular choice to meet critical energy needs.



The growth of the Local Supply Chain: The Covid-19 pandemic led to delays in supply of imported solar components and stocking out due to restrictions affecting logistics. Players in the African solar industry are now seriously exploring local solutions to reduce import dependence. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.africa50.com/fileadmin/uploads/africa50/Documents/Knowledge_Center/IRENA_Solar_PV_Costs_Africa_2016.pdf" target="_blank">Some existing local companies</a> who have been meeting local needs for almost a decade and local content requirements in countries like South Africa and Morocco have supported the growth of the local market. In fact, other local assemblers have experienced an up to 7X increase in demand for their locally assembled solar panels and are now exploring ways to increase their capacity. This is clearly an opportunity for <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://sun-connect-news.org/fileadmin/DATEIEN/Dateien/New/Intersolar-Solarize-Africa-Market-Report_2019.pdf" target="_blank">enabling policies and incentives</a> across African countries to help expand local manufacturing. This would enable value-chain competitiveness and support access to sustainable energy for all.



Promoting the Financial Credibility of DRE customers through increased Financial Inclusion leveraging mobile money: The restrictions in movement during the pandemic  has led to a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/financial%20services/our%20insights/how%20the%20covid%2019%20crisis%20may%20affect%20electronic%20payments%20in%20africa/how-the-covid-19-crisis-may-affect-electronic%20payments-in-africa.ashx" target="_blank">significant increase</a> in mobile payments <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-set-to-spur-mobile-money-growth-in-w-africa/" target="_blank">across Africa</a>; even beyond <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://clickpesa.com/east-africa-the-heart-of-mobile-money-what-is-next/" target="_blank">East African markets</a> that have well advanced mobile money systems. With energy payments now ranking as a crucial expense just after food, school fees and medical payments, these mobile micro payments become the first channels for financial inclusion of the vulnerable DRE customers, who begin to build credit. Indeed energy companies such as <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.m-kopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/M-KOPA-IMPACT-REPORT-2019.pdf" target="_blank">M-KOPA receive over 30 million mobile money payments</a> per day. With stronger financial credibility of their customers, DRE businesses may see a strengthened position during fundraising processes and as they scale their operations.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Outlook-image.png1_.png" alt="" class="wp-image-46149"/><figcaption>Ujunwa Ojemeni</figcaption></figure>



The saying goes “never let a good crisis go to waste”, and as seen above, the DRE sector is able to find its way through the crisis as its solutions continue to take their place in the energy mix. Only by supporting these DRE solutions through enabling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iea.org/policies/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">policies</a>, affordable technology, suitable&nbsp;<a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/447971581689878643/pdf/Funding-the-Sun-New-Paradigms-for-Financing-Off-Grid-Solar-Companies.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">funding options</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gogla.org/advanced-search?combine=covid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">business support</a>&nbsp;would we help women like Mama Esther to move out of the poverty trap, save lives in our health facilities, help students to study at night, enable businesses to thrive and much more.&nbsp;



– By Ujunwa Ojemeni, an impact investing, energy development and policy expert. She provides her expertise to drive access to energy in Africa through the Office of the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy &amp; Mineral Resources, and is an Advisor with the Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN). She holds degrees from the University of Nigeria and the University of Manchester, in addition to certifications from the International Finance Faculty and Florence School of Regulation. She is also an Alumni of the&nbsp;Open Africa Power&nbsp;program for young African Clean Energy Leaders by Enel Foundation. To promote the participation in the energy sector, she founded the African Women in Energy Development Initiative (AWEDI Network) focused on promoting the growth of the women in the sector through mentorship programs, career sponsorship (acceleration), networking opportunities, professional development and leadership training for women at all stages of their energy careers and for female students at the secondary and tertiary levels.

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Op-Ed: The Silver Lining For Distributed Renewable Energy Solutions Post Pandemic

Don’t tell Akin Alabi there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything. He just might tell you off.
At 41, he has built multiple businesses and is making money and time for more.
Alabi is the founder of NairaBET, Nigeria’s first and leading sports betting platform, a company he started in 2009 after he identified what he calls “a starving crowd”.
By that, he means a customer base willing and able to pay for services enough for him to make a sizeable profit.
Besides NairaBET, Alabi owns a small football club, has a book-writing business, is into digital marketing, business coaching and seminars, and is also contesting for a seat in parliament in the 2019 Nigerian elections.
The entrepreneur-investor likes to spend his days identifying specific gaps in the market and providing solutions to address them.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2018/05/23/nigeria-where-football-is-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Nigeria; Where Football Is Life</a>
Over the years, he has identified many ‘starving crowds’. He found the first one just after completing a diploma in business administration in 2001. At the time, there was a growing desire for Nigerian youth to travel abroad, especially to Canada, in search of greener pastures.
According to data from the Canadian immigration service, as many as 27,625 immigrants from Nigeria were residing in Canada by 2011.
Alabi tried his luck too.
In 2001, after his visa got rejected, he decided to collate his experiences navigating the complicated visa application process and sell that knowledge online to first-time applicants.
<blockquote>&#8220;So anything I learned, I created the information pack and I put it online and sold it,&#8221;</blockquote>
“I started downloading information tutorials and videos about the Canadian application process. I put all the information together and said some people will be interested in this so let me put it out there for sale. So in January 2003, I launched my first business, which was selling information products, and the first information product was this Canadian visa package,” says Alabi.
The guide was an instant hit. Alabi was selling it at N10,000 ($28) per copy and over 100 copies later, he knew he had struck a gold mine. It was time to find other crowds. Alabi decided to share his experiences making money online through his new startup in another how-to guide, which also found demand. After the success of the two digital products, Alabi decided to register his company at the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“I went there myself and I did everything myself and I was surprised I didn’t need a lawyer. So I created another information product – how to register your business with the CAC without a lawyer in 21 days or less. I put that out and people were buying. So anything I learned, I created the information pack and I put it online and sold it,” says Alabi.
He had stumbled on a booming industry. According to Stratistics MRC, the global e-learning market accounted for $165.21 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $275.10 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. The flexible learning, low cost and easy accessibility of the market bolstered by the increasing proliferation in the internet during the dotcom boom, presented Alabi with a hungry market eager to grab anything offered online.
<div id="attachment_36929" style="width: 224px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36929" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-36929" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322-214x300.jpg 214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322-300x420.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322-600x840.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322-768x1076.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322-731x1024.jpg 731w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM5A1322.jpg 1071w" sizes="(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />Akin Alabi. Photo provided.</div>
Alabi’s story is one of organic growth. Setting goals and achieving them is a prominent theme in his new book Small Business, Big Money: How to Start, Grow, and Turn Your Small Business Into a Cash Generating Machine, where he presents a practical guide for startups looking to scale.
“As early as I can remember, I wanted to be rich. I was fixated on wealth because I did not experience wealth growing up. It is something I believe gives you freedom. Freedom to do things you really wanted to do and freedom to impact this world. You can help the less privileged and also give your family the basic comfort of everything they want,” says Alabi. “I know money is not the most important thing in life but it is reasonably close to oxygen in terms of importance.”
After the success of his digital offerings, business began to slow down, but Alabi wanted more growth. He decided he would venture out of Nigeria to the land of milk and honey, in search of that elusive wealth.
“I got to the UK and wanted to work. I looked at the potential of what I could make and after four months, reality dawned on me. I didn’t want to become an illegal immigrant and felt I was better off doing what I was doing in Nigeria. So I said ‘I had something going for me, it might not be big but there was potential’. I said ‘let me go back and make it bigger’. I was not investing in the business so it was time to do it properly.”
But before leaving the UK, a chance encounter with the bookers would lead to the serial entrepreneur’s most lucrative venture yet. His brother called him from London while he was in the town of Milton Keynes to make a bet in an online sports shop for a football game so they could win some money.
“So I played and I made some money and then I played again and I lost and I played again and I won. And I said ‘wow, anybody can do this and people in Nigeria will love it’. So I wrote down on paper, how to make money from football betting. It was just 14 pages and I put it online and I called my friend in Nigeria to help me go and run an advert in the local newspapers,” says Alabi.
He invested N200,000 ($555) in the advert and made N450,000 ($1,248). That demand was going to progress from online content to a new customer base wanting a platform to bet on sports.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/entreprenuers/2017/08/02/success-bag-entrepreneur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Success Is In The Bag For This Entrepreneur</a>
“So those that bought the information product from me started reaching out to me that the website I recommended they should bet on did not work in Nigeria. And I was like ‘wow, you people are actually taking this seriously’. They wanted to place bets from $100 to $750. So I got thinking, these people are actually sending money to me abroad to place bets for them. Isn’t there anyone in Nigeria that has a business like this? And there was no one. So I said to myself ‘I have to create this platform’.”
That was almost a decade ago. He could not afford the software to create the platform at the time, which cost almost $1 million so he used a local developer to create his first platform. Today, NairaBET, a major player in the online sports betting market, has steadily transformed itself from just a football betting platform to a 360-degree sports booking platform covering digital, SMS, apps and retail betting. And, they have a new million-euro software upgrade in place, according to Alabi.
The total value of the global sports betting market is difficult to estimate because of the lack of consistency in how it is regulated in some parts of the world. Betting makes up about 30% to 40% of the global gambling market, which also includes lotteries, casinos, poker and other gaming, according to a report in Reuters.
This has led to challenges regulating the sector in Nigeria with issues arising from double taxation from the Lagos State government. But Alabi is hopeful these issues will be resolved once there is proper legislation of the sector. In the meantime, he is betting on a career in Nigerian politics and the corridors of power.

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The Nigerian Who Runs His Business On Luck

After 12 years on stage, fans worldwide still marvel at the performances of Africa Umoja, a colorful musical that took two old pals, Thembi Nyandeni and Todd Twala, 10 years to craft. These two performers came from the dusty streets of Soweto. Together, they created a world-class theater piece that showcases the African cultural renaissance through rhythm and dance and has visited more than 30 countries.
Young people idling in the streets motivated Nyandeni and her friend to create this production.
“Showbiz helped me to find myself. Now I want to protect others who are vulnerable,” says Nyandeni. Her father supported her throughout her dancing career by taking her to discos and parties. “My father would drop me and wait for me outside and I would dance through the night. At four in the morning, he would take me home with all my friends.”
Past members of the troupe have performed in big shows on Broadway in New York, like The Lion King. On average, dancers spend about five years with the troupe. Collen Mavundhla, aka “Mosquito”, is one of the oldest cast members. She’s been there since the group’s inception. “I’ve seen a lot of cast members being developed into professionals,” says Mavundhla.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-large wp-image-919" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/tribal_femaleDancer-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="711" />
Umoja’s recent performance in Lagos attracted captains of industry, senior public sector officials and members of the diplomatic community. First Bank, Nigeria’s oldest bank and the show’s sponsor, was so impressed by the performance that it proposed to partner with the dance troupe. According to Folake Ani-Mumuney, head of marketing at First Bank: “The choice of Umoja is really based on the theme behind Umoja, which is the spirit of togetherness. This is something that transcends South Africa. It is something that finds a place across the globe and Nigeria.” Ani-Mumuney believes the proposed partnership will go a long way to bridging the gap between Nigerian and South African businesses and correct some of the negative perceptions that exist about the countries.
Relations between South Africa and Nigeria are strained after South Africa deported 125 Nigerians from O.R. Tambo airport. “When the political relationship hits a bad patch, South African companies bear the brunt of it as they are the face of the bilateral relationship in Nigeria. Business people suffered most from Nigeria’s retaliation on the visa issue and they formed the bulk of those turned back at the airport recently. The foreign minister had already threatened to ‘clamp down’ on SA’s companies if SA did not apologize for its immigration officials’ actions,” wrote Dianna Games of the South Africa Nigeria Chamber of Commerce.
For Africa Umoja, partnership with a Nigerian bank is an opportunity for them to be part of the solution. “Umoja is not just a South African story, it is for everybody African. So I would like to put together 12 South African and Nigerian singers and dancers to create a show that will be a symbol of unity between us. My vision is to bridge the divisions between Nigeria and South Africa,” says Nyandeni. She concedes that the road ahead is not going to be easy. In addressing tensions, cultural diplomacy will be an invaluable tool. There are prevailing negative stereotypes, she says, that need to be dispelled. Yet there are few neutral channels to nurture understanding.
Of course, to discourage stereotyping will require more than one show. But, says Ani-Mumuney,
“I always say one thing about the creative industry; it is only limited by the limits of our imagination, which
is limitless.”

Tag: Nigera

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Op-Ed: The Silver Lining For Distributed Renewable Energy Solutions Post Pandemic

The Nigerian Who Runs His Business On Luck

Dancing Across The Divide