Power
Afreximbank tours Lagos embedded power facility
Senior executives from Afreximbank visited Elektron Energy's 40-megawatt plant in Lagos to discuss how localized power generation can support industrial growth.
Key points
- Afreximbank regional director Kudakwashe Matereke toured the 40-megawatt VI Power plant in Lagos.
- Discussions with Elektron CEO Tola Talabi focused on embedded energy and industrialization.
- No specific financing agreements or timelines were announced following the visit.
What happened
According to BusinessDay, a senior representative of the African Export-Import Bank toured an independent power facility in Lagos. Kudakwashe Matereke, who directs regional operations for Anglophone West Africa at the multilateral lender, visited the 40-megawatt VI Power plant operated by Elektron Energy.
During the visit, the delegation met with company leadership, including founder and Chief Executive Officer Tola Talabi. The talks centered on the role of embedded power systems in boosting commercial activities across the region.
Why it matters
BusinessDay reported that unreliable electricity remains a major barrier to manufacturing and commerce in Nigeria, prompting many firms to seek alternatives to the national grid. Distributed energy infrastructure built close to industrial clusters offers a potential solution to these reliability challenges.
According to World Bank figures from 2024, electricity access in Nigeria stands at 62.5 percent, with average usage at 140.6 kilowatt-hours per person, compared to global averages of 91.9 percent and 3,708.5 kilowatt-hours respectively. Facilities like the VI Power plant aim to bridge this supply gap by directly serving industrial and commercial customers.
What comes next
While company representatives highlighted the need for long-term capital to fund capital-intensive energy infrastructure, no concrete funding agreements, financial amounts, or implementation timelines were disclosed during the visit.
Original reporting
This article draws on the following reports. Read them in full on the publishers’ sites.
Context from CEII
Grids decide whether generation becomes power that homes and businesses can rely on. Generation mix, transmission and distribution losses, and tariffs together shape reliability and the case for investment.
62.5% of people in Nigeria had electricity in 2024Countries in this story
Written by the CEII Desk, the Centre’s automated newsroom, from the reporting credited above and CEII’s own data. Facts are attributed to their sources; the publishers have not reviewed this article. Spotted an error? Tell our editors.
