InfraCredit, a ‘AAA’-rated specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, has announced its credit enhancement of First Electric Power and Automation Services Limited’s local currency debt issuance under a co-financing arrangement with the Climate Finance Blending Facility (CFBF).

It marks the first mesh-grid clean energy infrastructure project and the sixth transaction under the facility, which was seeded with £10 million in concessional capital from the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and later strengthened by a $10 million investment from British International Investment (BII) alongside a $20 million counter-guarantee facility.

The transaction will finance the construction and commissioning of 20 mesh grid electricity networks with a combined capacity of 724.8 kWp in underserved communities across Gombe, Nasarawa and Ondo states.

Once operational, the project is expected to electrify approximately 5,156 households and small businesses, create 616 jobs, and prevent 762 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, advancing Nigeria’s universal electrification goals and contributing directly to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).

This transaction builds on the success of earlier projects supported through the facility, which has so far deployed approximately N12 billion across five developers (Darway, Hotspot, ACOB, Prado and CEESOLAR), collectively reaching more than 28,000 beneficiaries while creating over 2,900 jobs and installing approximately 1.8 MW of off-grid solar capacity.

The CFBF has now enabled a mandated project pipeline of approximately N243.31 billion across 23 developers seeking financing, demonstrating its catalytic role in mobilising private capital for climate-aligned infrastructure and expanding distributed renewable energy access nationwide.

The U.K. Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, said: “The Climate Finance Blending Facility (CFBF), managed by InfraCredit and co-funded by the UK, continues to demonstrate its position as a pioneering investor for power sector solutions.

This transaction marks the Facility’s first investment in innovative mesh grid projects, designed to lower the cost of distributed renewable energy solutions for rural and remote communities.”

Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike, said: “Our guarantee of First Electric under the Climate Finance Blending Facility marks the Facility’s first investment in mesh-grid infrastructure and underscores the scale and maturity the platform has now achieved in financing distributed renewable energy in Nigeria.

“With this sixth transaction, the facility’s portfolio is expected to deliver electricity access to nearly 36,000 households and businesses, create over 4,000 jobs and avoid more than 3,300 tonnes of carbon emissions annually across rural and underserved communities.”