Bridging the Power Gap: Nigerian Startup Offers Innovative Solution to Africa’s Electricity Crisis
“Everyone sees the problem, but it’s hard for people to imagine that there is a solution,” noted Bimbola Adisa.
Fifteen years ago, he decided to tackle head-on the continent’s pressing need for reliable electricity access.
A key challenge Adisa identified was the significant loss of kilowatt-hours produced. “We know that around 35% of production is lost,” he explained. “We created a system that allows us to know where this 35% goes.”
Navigating Africa’s unique challenges, including rapid population growth and a lack of detailed infrastructure data, was a hurdle.
“We don’t have a good map of the urban plan or addresses. In the event of a power outage, you don’t even know where to look,” Adisa said.
“We created a very, very basic map that shows every building, every pole, every transformer. So, in the event of a breakdown, you know exactly where you need to go to make the repair.”
His solution has already proven successful in Nigeria and Ghana, where power losses have been reduced from 35% to 20%. “As a result, electricity services are more efficient and therefore they can recover revenues and reinvest in the network,” Adisa explained.
“If they are not performing well, they cannot replace their equipment, they cannot reinvest, and the service ends up deteriorating. In Ghana, revenues have increased by almost 70%, grid losses have been reduced, and the electricity supply is simply more stable.”
Investing in a Profitable Ecosystem
Proparco, a subsidiary of AFD, specializes in investing in sustainable infrastructure in developing countries. They recently contributed to Beacon Power Service’s latest fundraising round, recognizing the vital role of electrification in Africa.
“It’s difficult for lots of reasons. The first is that everything related to energy generally requires a lot of capital. These are very large sums that must be deployed, especially to make up for a delay,” said Jean Benoît du Chalard, investment manager at Proparco.
Investments are crucial, and in multiple forms. Additional electrical capacities, changes in generation equipment, innovative solutions, network improvements, and rural electrification are all part of the solution.
“It’s a whole ecosystem, if you like, on which it is necessary to intervene in a coherent, complementary way, to be as effective as possible,” insisted du Chalard.
The fear of investing in an unprofitable or loss-making sector can scare off potential investors.
Already, “yes, obviously,” du Chalard acknowledged, “but we also have counter-examples of projects that generate a certain profitability in this sector. The question is certainly that of the overall financial balance of electricity sectors.”
With the Beacon Power Services project, Proparco is convinced that it is holding one of the keys to solving the energy crisis.
Beacon Power Services hopes to expand its activities to six new countries soon.
Adisa is working on a new version of their software, leveraging drones and artificial intelligence. The goal: to move from a simple monitoring system to one that can remotely redirect electricity flows.
The future of African electrification might just lie in innovative, data-driven solutions like Bolo’s.
What are some of the logistical hurdles that make providing reliable electricity in Africa unique?
## Interview with Bimbola Adisa: Bridging Africa’s Power Gap
**Host:** Welcome back to the show, today we’re speaking with Bimbola Adisa, founder of a Nigerian startup tackling the continent’s electricity crisis. Bimbola, thanks for joining us.
**Bimbola:** Thank you for having me.
**Host:** Let’s jump right in. This is a huge challenge, access to reliable electricity is a constant struggle in many African countries. What prompted you to take this on?
**Bimbola:** It’s something everyone sees, the constant outages, the impact on businesses and lives. But the problem felt insurmountable, people couldn’t imagine a solution. Fifteen years ago, I decided to face that challenge head-on.
**Host:** This isn’t just about flipping a switch. You mentioned significant losses in power generation itself. Can you elaborate on that?
**Bimbola:** Absolutely. We know around 35% of generated power is lost in distribution [[1](https://www.iea.org/countries/nigeria)]. That’s a huge chunk! We’ve created a system to pinpoint where those losses occur, which is crucial for any solution.
**Host:** Africa presents unique logistical hurdles, right?
**Bimbola:** Definitely. Urban planning, detailed infrastructure data, these things are often lacking. Imagine a power outage, you don’t even know where to start looking for the problem! So, we built basic maps that include every building, every pole, every transformer. This lets teams respond quickly and efficiently.
**Host:** You’ve already seen success in Nigeria and Ghana.
**Bimbola:** Yes, we’ve witnessed a 15 percentage point reduction in power losses, bringing it down from 35% to 20%. This means the electricity service is more efficient, they can recover revenues and reinvest in the network. In Ghana, this has resulted in almost 70% revenue increase, reduced losses, and a much more stable electricity supply.
**Host:** This sounds incredibly promising, Bimbola. What’s next for your company?
**Bimbola:** We are dedicated to expanding our reach across Africa. Stable and reliable electricity is essential for development, and we want to be part of that journey.
**Host:** Bimbola Adisa, thank you for sharing your inspiring work with us today.