More than 70 million Nigerians have no electricity. That is the number Dayo Olowoniyi, technical lead for Mission 300 in Nigeria, put on the table at a Sun King product launch in Lagos on Friday. Mission 300 aims to connect 300 million Africans to power. Nigeria’s share of that target is the largest. Olowoniyi said the country recorded over five million new off-grid connections between 2025 and 2026. Distributed solar, he argued, is the fastest route to the unconnected.
The Federal Government’s DARES programme, run by the Rural Electrification Agency and supported by the World Bank with $750 million, provides capital subsidies to renewable energy firms. The goal is to bring down the cost of solar for rural and low-income households. Olowoniyi’s message was direct: the government cannot do it alone.
The demand signal is strong. Sun King’s monthly solar sales have risen from about 3,000 units to around 100,000 units. The company has trained over 200 installers and operates 136 shops. Its EasyBuy model lets customers pay a down payment and then weekly or monthly instalments over one to two years. A 5 KVA Power Hub starts at ₦340,000 down. For a household earning the minimum wage, that is more than a year’s income. The 210-litre Power Freeze, for food preservation, will be commercially available soon.
The affordability barrier remains the binding constraint. The instalment model helps, but it requires verifiable income and payment discipline that informal-sector workers often lack. Titilayo Oshodi, the Lagos State special adviser on climate change, said instalment-based financing options could broaden access. She is right. The question is who bears the credit risk.
This is not the first time Nigeria has promised to solve its electricity problem through decentralised renewables. The 2016 Rural Electrification Strategy and the 2023 Electricity Act both aimed to expand off-grid access. Progress has been real but slow. Five million connections in two years is meaningful. It is also a fraction of what is needed to close a 70-million-person gap.
Reliable power lets small businesses run freezers, pumps, sewing machines and computers. It extends working hours. It reduces dependence on generators and petrol. Every solar system installed is a small step away from the grid that never reached the customer.
Winners: Rural and low-income households that gain access to solar. MSMEs that can extend operating hours and preserve goods. Sun King and other solar firms, which gain a growing market. The World Bank, which gets a visible return on its $750 million.
Losers: Diesel and petrol generator sellers, who face shrinking demand. Grid distribution companies, which lose potential customers. Households that cannot afford the down payment and remain locked out.
Bottom Line: Five million new connections is progress. Seventy million people without power is the real number.