A Solar Boom in Rural Nigeria Lights Up Local Economies
The diesel-powered generators that have long powered the Nigerian economy are making way for solar panels, thanks in part to a $750 million World Bank campaign.
Chisom Osinachi runs a convenience store in Akanu and can now keep it open until 10 p.m. after solar streetlights were installed in her community.
Photographer: Rachel Seidu for Bloomberg Businessweek
When night falls in Akanu in southeast Nigeria, the streets are lit. That’s something people in the rural settlement of 100,000 haven’t seen since 2020, when access to the national grid in the area broke down and was never repaired.
For Mercy Kalu, who runs a roadside restaurant, shop and bar, business is booming. “Our people go to bed early, like fowl, when there is no light,” she says. Now “people go to their farms in the day and come here in the night to pick up their soap, cream, sachet water and soft drinks. What I used to sell in a week, I can sell in three days.”