DRC: Gaia Impact Fund takes a stake in the off-grid supplier Nuru

Gaia Impact Fund, a French investment fund dedicated to renewable energy entrepreneurs, has just acquired a stake in the supplier of hybrid solar off-grid Nuru. The new investment will support Nuru in his plan to provide access to electricity to 5 million people in the coming years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Nuru’s board has a new member. Gaia Impact Fund has just announced that it has acquired a "significant" stake in this supplier of off-grid solar systems in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The French investment fund dedicated to renewable energy entrepreneurs did not give more details on its new investment.

He nevertheless indicated that the funds injected should support the development of the Nuru enterprise in the particular environment of the DRC. With 95 million inhabitants, the DRC is the most populous country in Central Africa. At the same time, the country has one of the lowest electrification rates in the subregion with only 19% of the population having access to electricity according to the 2018 World Bank report. The vast majority of electrified households are in the capital Kinshasa.

The potential of Nuru

As elsewhere in Africa, solar mini-grids could play an important role in the electrification of DR Congo populations. Hence the strategic investment of Gaia Impact Fund in one of the main suppliers of solar energy in this vast country.

"Although mini-grids have an increasing role to play as the least expensive solution in the future power mix of countries like the DRC, they have been a largely underfunded segment of the energy markets. "Notes the investment fund based in Paris in France. "We are impressed by the experienced local team of Nuru, which has successfully brought one of Africa's largest mini-grids into service in the complex and unstable environment of the DRC," said Guilhem Dupuy, director Gaia Impact Fund investments.

Electrify 5 million people in 4 years

Inaugurated in February 2020, the Nuru mini-grid is installed in Goma, a city in the province of North Kivu. The off-grid system is made up of 4,000 solar panels, each of which is capable of producing 335 Wp. The entire system is capable of delivering 1.3 MWp. The solar power plant is also equipped with a battery-powered electricity storage system, as well as standby generators that allow electricity to be supplied continuously after sunset. Read everything here: https://www.afrik21.africa/rdc-gaia-impact-fund-prend-une-participation-dans-le-fournisseur-doff-grid-nuru/