Nigeria is pivoting its fast-growing solar market toward domestic production, following a new partnership between the Rural Electrification Agency and Mente Energy Limited aimed at unlocking manufacturing, jobs and long-term capital.
In a statement signed by Abiola Adekunle, director of delivery at Mente Energy, it stated that the agreement, signed in Abuja, launches the Renewable Energy Localisation and Industrialisation Programme, a framework designed to convert rising demand for solar solutions into a structured industrial base anchored on local value creation.
For over a decade, solar adoption across households, businesses and mini grids has expanded rapidly. However, most equipment is imported, limiting the sector’s contribution to domestic industrial growth.
Abba Aliyu, managing director/chief executive officer, Rural Electrification Agency, REA, in his remarks, said the initiative is designed to reverse that trend by linking demand directly to local manufacturing capacity.
He said organising national demand would create the scale required for investors to establish factories in Nigeria while strengthening institutional systems needed to support long-term industrial growth.
Also speaking, Tolu Osekita, founder/managing partner, Mente Energy Limited, described the sector as one of the most significant industrial opportunities of the decade, noting that clearer market structure would unlock large-scale investment.
At the centre of the programme is a 20-year national demand model expected to provide credible data on future needs for solar components, including panels, batteries and inverters.
This is intended to reduce investor uncertainty and create a bankable pipeline for financing manufacturing and supply chains.
The initiative also introduces a demand aggregation system led by the REA, aligning public sector projects with private sector consumption to guarantee consistent offtake for locally produced equipment.
The first phase, expected within six months, will focus on building analytical, commercial and institutional frameworks required to attract investors and identify component-specific opportunities across the value chain.
Beyond domestic impact, the partnership is structured to position Nigeria as a regional hub for solar manufacturing in West Africa, with investments expected across assembly, full-scale production and supporting services.
Backed by the Nigeria First policy, the programme signals a shift from import dependence to industrialisation, as the country seeks to capture more value from its expanding clean energy market.