MOPO signs $75 million deal to grow business in Nigeria

MOPO, a battery rental firm from Sheffield, UK, has made a deal with Nigeria for $75 million (about ₦120 billion) to expand its operations. This news was reported by Bloomberg on Monday, based on a statement from the company.

The agreement allows MOPO to work with the Rural Electrification Agency. This government department aims to improve electricity access for people without power. They plan to start a pilot program this year. The project is expected to be delivered by 2030.

MOPO is known as the largest battery rental service provider in Africa. The company uses off-grid solar power stations to provide energy to users through local agents. Customers can rent batteries for home use, business, and other needs. Key partners include Octopus Energy, the biggest energy supplier in the UK, 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," said Luke Burras, MOPO’s chief operating officer. "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."

This deal is good news for Nigeria, which has the largest electricity access deficit in the world. Many Nigerians rely on noisy petrol generators because of frequent power outages. This situation makes it harder to switch to cleaner energy and deal with climate issues.

MOPO’s investment in Nigeria shows that Africa is getting more attention from the global community. The continent receives the least climate finance worldwide, even though it contributes very little to climate change. Africa makes up only 2 to 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions but gets only a tenth of the annual climate funding it needs.

Last week, Briter, a platform focused on emerging markets, released a report on climate technology in Africa. It noted that climate tech has overtaken fintech as the top area for venture funding on the continent. This indicates that climate tech is at a turning point in Africa and could help change the global view on climate finance here.

"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 stated. From 2016 to 2025, ClimateTech companies raised about $6.35 billion across 779 businesses. Annual funding grew from $206 million for 28 companies in 2016 to over $1.5 billion for 223 companies in 2025.

Nigeria ranks second after Kenya in attracting venture capital for climate tech. It makes up 12.9% of Africa’s total capital inflow from 2016 to 2025. MOPO rents out over 7.5 million batteries each year across six African countries, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Liberia, according to its website.