The West African region has significant renewable energy potential which could be used to meet unsatisfied electricity needs; provide universal access to electricity while also assisting the region’s transition to a low-carbon growth path.

Currently, in several West African countries, insufficient and irregular power supply remains a major developmental stumbling block. Only about 42% of the region’s population of nearly 340 million people has access to electricity. Compared to a few years ago, this is a slight improvement is owing to clean energy.

Africa’s renewable energy industry, as a whole, has made substantial progress and is making strides to provide those on the continent with reliable and inexpensive energy. It is noteworthy that some nations in the region have major clean energy resources.

Thanks to innovative clean technologies, a growing number of African innovators are developing local-based solutions to meet energy needs. In this piece, we would take a look at cleantech startups that are operating in West Africa. In no particular, here are five cleantech startups in the region.

Daystar Power

Daystar Power is a Nigeria-based clean energy startup. Launched in 2017 by Jasper Graf von Hardenberg and Christian Wessels, the energy company aims to help businesses solve their energy crisis using solar power.

Daystar provides solar power solutions to businesses in a variety of industries, including financial services, agriculture, manufacturing, and more.

Recently, the company secured $38 million from Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the Danish Development Finance Institution (DFI), the STOA infrastructure and energy fund, Proparco, and others.

Easy Solar

Nthabiseng Mosia co-founded the company in 2016. Easy solar is a pay-as-you-go solar distribution firm based in Sierra Leone that makes energy accessible to those who are off the grid.

The startup makes financial services and renewable energy affordable to its consumers in West Africa by utilizing a variety of flexible financing methods such as pay-as-you-go, mobile money, agents, and retailers.

According to the company, its mission is to make energy, financial services, and life-improvement goods inexpensive and accessible to everyone. Solar lanterns, house lighting systems, appliances, and cookstoves are among the things that Easy Solar provides through flexible financing options.

Oolu

The solar pay-as-you-go distributor, founded in 2015 by Nilmi Senaratna and Daniel Rosa, aims to meet the energy demands of the more than 150 million people in West Africa who lack access to power.

Based in Senegal, Oolu is one of West Africa’s fastest-growing off-grid solar firms with a mission to replace dirty and expensive lighting options with sustainable energy alternatives for West Africa’s 150 million people without power.

The company wants to be a prominent provider of energy and financial services to millions of people in developing countries. Its concept, which was established in collaboration with local communities, enables the company to provide high-quality solar goods with a reasonable payment plan.

 Green Energy

Founded by Anthony O. Adegbulugbe, GreenPower is a Nigerian-based energy startup that specializes in renewable energy and electromechanical engineering.

GreenPower offers high-quality Solar, Power Electronic (UPS, Inverters, rectifiers), and MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) solutions to diverse clients such as governments, schools, financial institutions, hospitals, hotels, real estate, and the oil and gas sector.

Design, procurement, installation, operation, maintenance, and consultation are all aspects of engineering services covered by the organization.

Lumos Global

Lumos Global is a Nigerian off-grid solar company Co-founded by Nir Marom who is also the president of the company. With its unique power solution, Lumos assists homes in obtaining stable electricity.

The clean energy startup has a strategic agreement with MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecom operator. The telecommunications company assists it in providing and distributing solar equipment and services to Nigerians.

Lumos has installed over 100,000 solar home systems across Nigeria and has received a $75 million grant from the Federal Government of Nigeria to power over a million homes by 2025.