MOPO, a pay-per-use battery technology company headquartered in Sheffield, UK, with a primary focus on Africa, has reached an agreement with Nigeria for a $75 million (approximately ₦120 billion) expansion, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a company statement. The deal enables MOPO to collaborate with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the government body tasked with improving electricity access for unserved and underserved populations, on a pilot program running through 2025, with full project delivery scheduled for 2030.
MOPO's Battery Rental Model
MOPO is regarded as the largest provider of battery rental services on the continent. The company uses off-grid solar power stations with recharging facilities to distribute energy to users through local agents. Customers rent these batteries for home use, business operations, and other purposes. Key partners include the UK's largest energy supplier, Octopus Energy; the Norwegian Government Fund, Norfund; and the International Finance Corporation.
“We solve a lot of the problems that mini-grids and solar home systems struggle with,” Luke Burras, MOPO’s chief operating officer, was quoted as saying. “We rent batteries to customers for hours. We’re not asking them to buy an asset, as in the case of solar home systems, and we’re not asking investors to place a huge bet on their future usage, as with mini-grids.”
Nigeria's Electricity Access Deficit and Climate Tech Rise
Nigeria has the world's largest absolute electricity access deficit. Reliance on noisy gasoline generators as an alternative to frequent grid power failures complicates the transition to clean energy and hinders efforts to address the climate crisis. MOPO's investment affirms growing global attention on Africa, which receives the smallest share of global climate finance despite being among the lowest contributors to climate change. The continent accounts for 2 to 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions but receives only a tenth of the annual climate funding it requires.
Last week, emerging market-focused intelligence platform Briter and its research partners released “The State of ClimateTech in Africa,” revealing that climate tech has surpassed fintech as Africa's top venture-funding sector. This suggests climate tech has reached an inflection point in Africa and could help turn the tide on international apathy towards climate finance on the continent.
“Between 2016 and 2025, the sector represented roughly 22% of total venture funding on the continent, with its share of annual investment rising from 13% in 2016 to nearly 40% in 2025,” the report noted. “Between 2016 and 2025, ClimateTech companies raised approximately $6.35 billion across 779 companies. Annual funding increased from $206 million across 28 companies in 2016 to more than $1.5 billion across 223 companies in 2025.”
Nigeria's Role in African Climate Tech
Nigeria is second only to Kenya in attracting climate tech venture capital, accounting for 12.9 percent of Africa's cumulative capital inflows over the six years to 2025. MOPO rents out more than 7.5 million of its batteries annually across six African countries: Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Liberia, according to its website.
