Across Nigeria, millions of households and businesses have long been left without reliable electricity, dependent on expensive, polluting generators while investors looked elsewhere. Into that gap stepped All On, a Nigerian impact investment company with a mandate to back off-grid, renewable energy solutions and close the country’s widening energy access divide. Ten years on, All On is marking a decade of operation, and an independently verified impact evaluation tells a compelling story: 360,000+ households connected, over 1.8 million lives reached, $51 million deployed, and a sector that has nearly tripled in investment value since All On entered the market. At the helm is Caroline Eboumbou, Chief Executive Officer, who sat down with us to reflect on the journey, the hard-won wins, and what it will take to finish the job.

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Why All On? What was the original motivation for entering the energy market?

All On was established in 2016 by Shell Plc, following a strategic decision to contribute to the closing of the energy access gap in Nigeria, with a focus on the Niger Delta. The mandate was clear: invest in the development of the renewable energy ecosystem to ensure that the unserved and underserved communities where millions of Nigerians lacked reliable power get access to energy. Shell committed up to $200 million to the sector and set up All On as an independent impact investment company to deliver on that vision.
At the time, most serious investors viewed off-grid energy in Nigeria as too risky, too remote, and too complex, but we saw it differently. We entered the market with a bold ambition: to catalyse a more inclusive and sustainable energy future. A decade later, we are proud to have impacted over one million lives through strategic investments, bold partnerships, and holistic business support.

What was the power situation in Nigeria when All On started, and how did the company respond?

Nigeria has one of the largest electricity deficits in the world. When we launched in 2016, roughly 90 million Nigerians lacked electricity access entirely, the largest unserved population on the African continent. Millions more had access to a grid so unreliable it was barely functional. Businesses were paying up to three times the grid tariff just to keep generators running, and about 14 gigawatts of capacity was coming from generators rather than the national grid. This remains the reality today for many.
Our goal was to help build a cleaner, more reliable energy future by backing businesses capable of solving this problem at scale. All On became a catalyst, a trusted partner committed to making energy accessible, affordable, and sustainable for communities that had been overlooked for decades.

Ten years on — has All On delivered on its mandate?

Ten years ago, All On made a bold wager: that private capital, smart partnerships, and the right approach could bring reliable electricity to unserved and underserved communities. I am proud to say that wager has paid off.
Before I go further, I want to celebrate the incredible All On team, passionate, energetic, and deeply committed people who don’t just talk about impact, they deliver it. As at the end of Q1 2026, 364,320 households have been connected across Nigeria, over 1.8 million lives have been reached, and $51 million in investment has been disbursed. Streets that were once dark at night are now lit up, creating safer environments for residents and opening new possibilities for businesses.
But one of the most important numbers to me is this: households connected to our solutions are spending, on average, four times less on energy than those still running diesel generators. That is money that stays in families and can fund better economic opportunities. That is the real impact. Last year, we launched our first Impact Assessment Report, covering seven years of independently verified outcomes from 2018 to 2024. It is a milestone we mark with immense pride.

The evaluation was conducted independently by Dalberg Advisors. What did it confirm, and what did it challenge you on?

The evaluation was rigorous, which is exactly what we asked for. It confirmed that our integrated approach, combining direct investment, enabling finance, venture building, and ecosystem development, is working. Since 2018, we have helped reduce procurement costs by 25 to 50 per cent through our Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology programme, done in collaboration with Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. Seventy per cent of our supported businesses reported improved strategic and operational readiness from our Hub support.
The evaluation also showed us where we need to go further. End users want more affordable, solar-compatible appliances. Communities need greater power capacity to support productive use. And the sector still needs more patient, risk-tolerant capital at the early stage. We are taking all of that seriously.
What also struck me was the broader market signal: when All On entered in 2016, the sector had roughly 50 energy players and about $90 million in annual investment. By 2024, there were over 100 players and more than $250 million in investment. We did not do that alone, but we helped make it possible.

Can you highlight some of the specific impacts on the ground?

The scale matters, but the texture of the impact matters more. Over 85 per cent of small businesses connected to our solutions reported revenue growth, driven by longer operating hours, better product management, and fewer disruptions from power outages. Fishermen are now storing their catch in cold rooms and becoming middlemen; tailors are running machines after dark, and shopkeepers are keeping drinks cold without burning expensive fuel.
At the household level, 50 per cent of connected families reported better air quality, improved safety, and reduced noise because they are no longer breathing generator fumes or kerosene smoke. Children are reading at night, and women are processing food with solar-pumped water. These are lives that have changed shape and not just abstract numbers.
In communities like Oweikorogha in Bayelsa State and Egbeke Etche in Rivers State, we financed the development of 80kW solar mini-grids through our Niger Delta Electrification Programme. The footprint is visible and permanent.

You are leading a $51 million impact investment operation in one of the world’s most challenging energy markets. What has that experience been like, and what has it demanded of you personally?

It has demanded everything. This is not a sector that rewards timidity. We go where other investors will not, into communities that commercial capital has written off, backing entrepreneurs that the mainstream market calls too risky. One of our investees said it plainly: no other investor wanted to put significant money into a solar equipment manufacturer in Nigeria. They saw red flags, but we saw potential.
What that requires from a leader is conviction, and you must be willing to take a long view, hold your nerve through complexity, and trust the people around you. I have been fortunate to work alongside a team that shares that conviction completely.
On a personal level, being a woman leading this kind of organisation in Nigeria has sharpened my understanding of why representation matters in finance and investment. The entrepreneurs we have supported, from the young women from the North who were shaken with joy over a $10,000 grant after delivering the clearest pitch in the room, to the N2 billion investment in Salpha Energy, the only female-led solar home system assembly plant in Nigeria, constantly remind me that talent and vision are everywhere, but capital isn’t. The gap between those elements is where the work lies.

What legacy do you want to leave at All On?

I want to leave a legacy that belongs to the people: the communities we have served, the businesses we have supported, and the team that made it possible. Professionally, I want to leave the team better than I found them, more capable, more confident, and well-positioned for the next chapter.
On sector impact, the legacy I hope for is one of genuine, tangible and measurable progress. End users with more opportunities and improved livelihoods, stronger partnerships, and an energy access gap that keeps narrowing. Because energy access translates to a person finishing more work and earning more because he/she has reliable power. It is a student reading at night, a shopkeeper keeping goods cold, a borehole running without burning expensive fuel. Those little changes that quietly change family fortunes.

What needs to happen from the government, investors, and the private sector — for All On to meet its 2030 targets?

The trajectory is positive. Our projections suggest we are on course to exceed one million connections by 2030. But that does not happen without everyone delivering their part.
For investors, the message is straightforward: the market has matured. The risk profile has shifted. There is no longer a credible argument for sitting on the sidelines; what the sector needs now is patient, risk-tolerant capital deployed at scale into businesses that are ready for it. For policymakers and regulators, we need to continue improving the enabling environment. For instance, creating conditions that support local manufacturing and innovation will be key to scaling the sector.
For development partners, co-investment and blended finance remain essential. There are communities where commercial returns alone will not drive coverage. Those gaps require deliberate public and concessional capital working alongside private investment.
For the developers, we have been encouraging them to shift their thinking from isolated, project-by-project approaches to portfolio-wide models. With important funds coming into the sector, it will be important to aggregate mini-grid projects and off-grid solutions into larger, unified portfolios. This will lead to lower transaction costs, improved financial risk profiles, and unlocking of much-needed institutional capital to bridge the energy access deficit.

Through our Hub we have supported over a hundred businesses, from ideation stage to mature growth level, helping them refine their projects and business models in order to build a pipeline of investable, bankable projects for the sector. Developers will need to continue adopting robust project development methods and build demand-stimulation models that will decrease reliance on grants and subsidies over time. This will also be made possible through the innovative aggregation models that will help improve return expectations in the off-grid sector.

Nigeria will not solve its power problem through off-grid solutions alone. The country still needs major investment in the main grid But while this larger systemic change unfolds, communities need to be empowered and provided with opportunities to generate decent living conditions. That is the gap All On was built to close, and we intend to deliver on that mandate.