Off-grid solar leader Sun King has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to deepen cooperation on renewable-energy access, local manufacturing, and sector analytics. The agreement—inked at REA’s Nigeria Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) in Abuja on Tuesday and witnessed by Vice President Kashim Shettima alongside Sun King co-founder and CEO T. Patrick Walsh—signals a tighter public-private push to accelerate Nigeria’s clean-energy transition.
A market scaling fast
Sun King says it now sells more than 330,000 solar kits each month across Africa, up from 10,000 in 2017. In Nigeria, monthly sales have expanded from 3,000 (2020) to about 75,000 today, and the company expects to triple Nigerian volumes over the next few years. Beyond solar home systems, Sun King designs energy-efficient appliances—including TVs and freezers—and affordable smartphones that integrate with its solar solutions to boost reliability and reduce energy costs for households and small businesses.
Three pillars of the partnership
1) Local value creation and manufacturing.
Under the MoU, Sun King and REA will advance the government’s “Nigeria First” agenda by exploring domestic assembly of select solar and energy-efficient products. The aim is to expand supply chains, create skilled jobs, and retain more value locally. With enabling policies, Sun King estimates import substitution of up to $150 million over five years from planned local facilities. The partners will also convene structured dialogues on what it will take—policy design, infrastructure, and incentives—to build a durable clean-energy manufacturing base.
2) Technical cooperation and data sharing.
The parties will deepen collaboration on data collection, market intelligence, and analytics to sharpen program design and execution. Insights are expected to inform national initiatives such as the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES), while identifying skill and infrastructure gaps that slow deployment. The approach aligns with Mission 300, a continental target to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.
3) Joint advocacy for standalone solar.
Sun King and REA will elevate the role of standalone solar as a core pillar of Nigeria’s energy strategy—powering homes, schools, clinics, and micro-enterprises—while advocating policies and financing that enable scale. The coordinated messaging aims to align public and private narratives around an energy mix that is cleaner, cheaper to deploy, and more resilient for last-mile communities.
Government and industry commitments
Vice President Kashim Shettima framed the partnership as a call for private-sector leadership, noting the government is enhancing incentives for local manufacturing, simplifying regulation, and collaborating with states, investors, and development partners to de-risk private capital. REA’s Managing Director/CEO Dr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu called Sun King “a leading partner” on the Nigeria Electrification Programme and said the new agreement links energy access, industrial growth, and enabling policy in one push.
Jobs, capabilities, and the next phase
Sun King’s rapid expansion has already created over 12,000 jobs in Nigeria, spanning sales, installation, servicing, engineering, marketing, and data functions. The company says the MoU will supercharge job creation and build domestic capabilities in both renewable-energy hardware and electronics. CEO T. Patrick Walsh framed the collaboration as an intersection of Mission 300 and Nigeria’s industrialization agenda—making clean energy more affordable while using shared data and insight to strengthen local manufacturing and accelerate access.
If executed, the partnership could move Nigeria from large-scale importer to active producer of solar systems and efficient appliances—shortening supply chains, stabilizing costs, and speeding connections for the millions still off the grid.
