InfraCredit has announced that its credit guarantee is enabling CEESOLAR Energy Limited to raise local currency debt under a co-financing arrangement with the Climate Finance Blending Facility (CFBF). This marks the fifth transaction under the Facility, which was seeded with £10 million of concessional capital from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and later boosted by a US$10 million investment from British International Investment (BII), alongside a NGN20 billion counter-guarantee facility.
The debt will fund the construction and commissioning of four isolated hybrid solar mini-grids with a combined capacity of 760 kWp in underserved communities across Cross River State. Once operational, the project will supply power to approximately 3,600 households and small businesses, create nearly 561 jobs, and avoid over 737 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, in turn advancing Nigeria’s goal of universal electrification and meaningfully contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).
UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, said: “We are delighted that the UK-funded Climate Finance Blending Facility, managed by InfraCredit, continues to catalyse local currency debt for renewable energy infrastructure. The CFBF model for financing distributed renewable energy remains central to achieving Nigeria’s energy transition and net-zero ambitions.”
InfraCredit’s CEO, Chinua Azubike, added: “We are proud to support CEESOLAR, joining other indigenous distributed renewable energy developers we’ve enabled to access long-term, affordable local currency financing. This transaction demonstrates the power of partnership, combining catalytic first-loss capital from FCDO, bridge financing from NSIA through the Construction Finance Warehouse Facility, and InfraCredit’s guarantees, to unlock private investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.”
From CEESOLAR’s side, CEO Chibueze Ekeh said: “This milestone reflects CEESOLAR’s commitment to bridging Nigeria’s energy gap through innovation and collaboration. With InfraCredit’s support, we are proving that clean energy solutions can be impactful, commercially viable, and sustainable.”
This transaction reinforces a growing trend, using local currency debt to finance infrastructure in Nigeria, thus avoiding foreign-exchange exposures and reducing debt servicing risks. InfraCredit’s guarantees are specifically designed to attract domestic institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance firms by creating a new asset class for pension funds while deepening the domestic debt capital market.
By mobilising naira-denominated debt rather than foreign-currency borrowing, the transaction strengthens Nigeria’s financial resilience, reduces currency-mismatch risks and supports local investor participation. This helps deepen the domestic capital market, diminish reliance on external funding, and fosters more sustainable infrastructure finance in an economy sensitive to exchange-rate volatility.
