How to Start a Solar Energy Business in Nigeria 

By Ayoola Olaitan

This business is a direct solution to one of the hovering and lingering problems in this country, the inadequacy or lack of constant power supply in Nigeria is still a major issue and this hinders a lot of things, it even contributes to the slow industrialization problem of this country and also to our disposition towards technology, it is also the cause of some trivial issues like carrying out normal day to day activities. The lack of electricity has left a mark on every Nigerian, this is undebatable.

Solar energy has proven to be a great substitute to fuel and diesel and it also saves the environment from noise pollution caused by generator sets. If you are considering starting a solar energy business in Nigeria, you are taking a step in the right direction. However, you must also know that the solar energy business is capital intensive depending on the level you want to operate.

IS SOLAR ENERGY BUSINESS PROFITABLE?

The solar energy business is a viable business, businesses and households spend huge amounts of money on petrol and diesel to power their generator sets for their day to day activities. This is enough reason for many to seek an alternative lasting solution to power issues, hence solar energy takes the cue, and providing affordable solar energy services is definitely a sure way to make bank.

Solar energy is a great alternative to burning petrol and diesel as it saves the environment from pollution, noise, and air, asides its money-saving perk, an eco-friendly energy source. If you are considering starting a solar energy business in Nigeria, you are taking a step in the right direction but you must also know that the solar energy business is capital intensive.

How to Start Solar Energy Business in Nigeria

Step One – Register Your Business

This is undebatable, registering your business has a lot of perks asides it being a legal process, as it is the first step to structuring your business is to register it with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), It creates a feeling of trust in your consumers and ascertains the credibility of your enterprise to an extent.

Step Two – Choose A Niche

When starting a solar energy business, you can start in four ways:

a. Sell Solar Product to Customers

Partnering with some companies that manufacture solar products is all you need to do if this niche is your option, the catch of this business is that you really don’t need a huge capital for this, it’s like the non-capital intensive part of the solar business. You can always strike a deal with manufacturing companies, bargain prices with them, and get the products to your customers at a markup, then make your profit off the deal.

When starting a solar energy business, you can start in four ways:

1. Sell Solar Product To Customers

Here, you will need to partner with companies manufacturing solar energy products, some of the popular companies in Nigeria are:

Astrum Energy Solutions Ltd, Enugu

GreenPower Overseas Ltd, Lagos

Infinite Solar Solutions Nigeria Ltd, Abuja

Luminity Technologies And Gadgets, Lagos

Mpower S.E Nig Ltd, Abuja

BERSH (Solar House) Ltd, Lagos

Haipo Solar, Delta

Phlemin Integrated Global Ltd, Lagos

Frepower Technologies, Lagos

VPS Energy, Lagos

GEKEL Integrated Ventures Ltd

ICellPower Energy Ltd, Lagos

Orgone Tecnergy Ltd, Kaduna

Raph Mart Engineering Services Ltd, Lagos

Indra Power NG, Abuja

The interesting part of this business is that you don’t need to have a huge start-up capital to begin. You can visit these companies, bargain prices with them, and begin advertising to your prospective customers. Once you get pictures of the equipment, you can post them across social media platforms and advertise them. As soon as your customers make a payment, you then place an order from the manufacturing company at an agreed specified price and sell at a profit.

There are three major components you would be selling:

i. Solar Panel – This helps in tapping energy from the sun

ii. Inverter – This stores the energy in the battery for future use

iii. Battery – The inverter automatically switches to the energy stored in the battery once the sun goes down. This battery can also be charged using generator or power supply. The batteries comes in different sizes: 50ah, 100ah, 200ah etc.

If the inverter draws energy from electricity, it switches to the battery once the light goes off. Therefore, you will need to invest in the three equipments mentioned above if you are going into this business.

Materials you will be selling will include;

Solar Panels

Inverter

Battery

b. Be an Installer of Solar Products

Being an installer can rake in cash for you, not all of the dealers of solar materials or companies provide installation and maintenance services. So anyone purchasing an inverter will need to get a handyman that will get the gismo to start running and get the lights on!

This niche involves good electrical and electronic knowledge. And what you really need to do is strike a deal with solar materials sellers so they can always refer buyers of solar materials to you when they get a sale and the customers may be in need to get the job done.

c. Be A Solar Energy Product Manufacturer

This is the most technical aspect of this business and it requires huge capital, training, and licenses to begin. There are legislations regulating solar power business in Nigeria that you must be familiar with.

Some of this legislation include:

The Companies Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2004 The Companies Regulations, 2012 Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission’s Regulations for the Application for License (Generation, Transmission, System Operations, Distribution & Trading), 2010 Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005

Step Three – Draft A Business Plan for Your Solar Energy Business

Draft a business plan once you are certain about your niche. A business plan sets out your business’s future objectives and strategies laid out to achieve them.

Step Four – Market Your Solar Energy Business

This is the most integral part of all the steps as it is a direct reflection of success, doing this step well guarantees success to an extent.

Ways to get your business out there so you can meet with potential customers include:

Word of mouth

Referral marketing

Social media influencer marketing

Google ads

Collaboration and partnership

CONCLUSION

The solar energy business is profitable if you know how to navigate your way around the business.