Can I Get a Loan for Solar Panels in Nigeria?

Can I Get a Loan for Solar Panels in Nigeria?

Most Homes as well as businesses are looking towards the direction of solar energy because of how unreliable Electricity supply has become in the country.

While lots of people will ideally want solar systems installed in their homes and places of business, the initial cost of Installing these solar systems tends to be quite expensive.

This has led lots of people to ask these salient questions: Can I get a loan for solar panels in Nigeria? The answer is a resounding Yes, You can get a Loan to install your solar system in Nigeria, There are lots of financial institutions as well as some government and private organizations that are capable of giving you loans that you’ll use for your solar installation.

We’ll look at the available solar loan options you can look at in Nigeria, we’ll also discuss how they work and how you can make the most out of them

Why Should Nigerians Consider a Loan for Solar Panels?

While lots of people want to get solar panels installed in their homes and places of works, the high upfront fee that you will have to pay for the panels, Inverters and batteries means most Nigerians cannot afford to get them outrightly, depending on the size of system you plan on installing, the Installation price could cost you anywhere between N150k to N3.5M, so you see, if you can’t afford this fee outrightly, you can actually take a loan that can help you to spread the payment to months or even years.

READ ALSO:How Do Solar Panel Prices in Nigeria Compare to Other Countries?

This alone can help to make the solar system not only affordable but also Accessible to a lot of people. We know that with solar you can simply enjoy uninterrupted power supply, you’re in total control of your power source and energy, You can easily reduce or totally eliminate high electricity bills as well as how much you spend on fueling your generator.

Types of Solar Loans Available in Nigeria

If you intend borrowing to pay for your solar panels, there are actually some different options you can look at, here we’ve arranged the list of best possible places and ways you can borrow loan for your solar installation:

1. Bank Loans for Solar Energy

So many commercial banks out there have Different solar loans as a part of their effort to support mass adoption of solar energy in the country. Here are some of the popular banks in Nigeria that are actively providing solar financing to Nigerians.

 

a.Access Bank: At access bank, you can have access to loans Through which you can finesse your solar system, Access Bank has the Pay-As-You-Go solar loans that allows their customers to have access to significant amounts of money for solar installation.

b. First Bank: Firstbank is another Nigerian bank out there that’s giving out massive loans for their customers. Businesses and homes that are better qualified for these loans are always invited to apply for these loans.

c.Union Bank: Union Bank also gives Some huge amount of money as loans to qualified Nigerians who are interested in applying for loans for solar installation

d.Stanbic IBTC: You can also borrow loans from Stanbic IBTC. They have lots of Flexible loans you can borrow for your solar system Installation.

For you to be able to qualify for these bank loans, You must be able to:

a.Have a very flexible source of income that’s traceable.

b.You must be able to provide your different valid identification like your National Identification NIN, Voters Card etc.

c. You’ll be mandated to submit a proof of residence as well as a valid utility bills.

d. Some banks also request that you have a very good credit history to be able to apply for these loans.

You also need to know that these loans from banks always come with interest rates that usually fall between 10% to about 25% and most times the repayments period for these loans could be from 6 Months to up to 5 years.

2. Government and International Solar Financing Programs

In recent years, the Nigerian government have been in serious partnership with lots of international organizations, through this partnership, a lot of programs were launched to support more adoption of solar energy, some of these programs are:

a.Rural Electrification Agency (REA) Solar Program: The major aim of this program is to help provide the necessary fundings that is needed for off-grid solar projects that are located in rural areas.

b.CBN Solar Intervention Fund: The CBN solar intervention fund is a CBN Sponsored program that helps gives soft loans for solar project, they’re usually at single digit interest rates that is usually below 10%

c.World Bank and IFC Solar Loan Programs: These international financial Bodies fr time to time gives funding to most Nigerian financial institutions so that they can support the adoption of solar installation all over the country.

3. Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Solar Financing

Probably one of the easiest and most popular options for those looking for solar financing in Nigeria. With the Pay-As-You-Go solar, you can easily Install solar in your home or place of work with a very small initial deposit, then you’ll be mandated to pay in installments as time goes on. A lot of companies out there as well as Fintech startups in Nigeria do offer these PAYG financing options, some of them include:

a.Lumos Nigeria: They’re in partnership with MTN Nigeria, Here customers are allowed to pay either daily, weekly or monthly through their MTN mobile accounts.

b.Greenlight Planet (Sun King): Sun king also gives out solar homes systems like solar panels, inverters, batteries, mountings etc with some easy and really flexible repayment options.

c.Zola Electric: Zola electric is another company with really good and easy repayment options.

If you are not qualified for loans from traditional banks, you might have to consider going for PAYG, they’re low risks compared to traditional banks and their repayment plans are very flexible.