Prado_DARES

pending

Prado Power, established in 2014 in Nigeria with headquarters in Abuja, focuses on providing affordable cleantech solutions to deliver electricity to off-grid and underserved communities, as well as commercial and industrial clients. The company currently operates 10 mini-grids with a total installed capacity of 0.7 MW, serving over 100,000 people across five states: Benue, Adamawa, Niger, Akwa Ibom, and Ondo. Additionally, Prado Power is constructing six mini-grids with a capacity of 1.8 MW in Benue, Niger, and Adamawa States.IFC intends to support the World Bank (WB) financed Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (“WB Nigeria DARES”) project (P179687) through a proposed investment of a 4-year revolving facility (“IFC DARES Platform” or the “Platform”). This investment aims to support up to 20 eligible mini-grid Renewable Service Companies (RESCOs) and Solar to Home Service (SHS) companies (“Clients”) participating in WB Nigeria DARES by part-financing the construction and operationalization of isolated and/or interconnected mini-grids or sales of SHS in rural or remote communities. It builds on the achievements of the WB financed Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), which has supported the establishment of 175 mini-grids and the sale of over 1.1 million Solar Home Systems, with more than 7.8 million Nigerians gaining access to electricity.The proposed IFC investment consists of a revolving loan of up to USD 10 million to partly finance the 4-year capital expenditure plan by Prado Power Limited (“Prado Power” or the “Company”) to support the construction and operation of 21 isolated mini-grids with a combined capacity of 9.5MW and establish up to 77,202 connections in the states of Benue, FCT, Nassarawa, Niger, Ondo, and Taraba. The loan will be secured entirely through an assignment of grant amounts due to Prado Power under the WB Nigeria DARES. The mini-grid sites are mostly in rural communities, on small plots of land with sizes ranging from 0.15 hectares up to 10 hectares, acquired through outright purchase from individuals, households, or communities. Land for mini-grids is acquired in accordance with the procedures set out in the World Bank-approved Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) developed under the DARES Platform, which serves as a core E&S instrument for projects implemented through this program. The mini-grid capacities range from 100kw to 8,000kw and construction of each will last up to nine months and will be performed by both Prado Power and Contractors. IFC proceeds will be used solely to construct and operate mini grids.