Off-Grid Energy challenge: All On offers up to $1m for Nigerian innovators

Challenge opens with up to $1 million in funding

All On, Nigeria's leading off-grid energy access investor, has launched the 2026 All On Off-Grid Energy Challenge, offering between $200,000 and $1 million in blended funding to support innovative Nigerian clean energy companies developing solutions to bridge the country's energy access gap.

Applications for the nationwide competition opened on July 2 and will close on July 31, 2026. The initiative builds on the successes of previous editions and is aimed at identifying, supporting and scaling innovative off-grid energy solutions capable of expanding electricity access, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth, particularly in unserved and underserved communities.

According to All On, the Challenge is targeted at entrepreneurs and innovators developing scalable and commercially viable solutions in renewable energy, productive use technologies, energy efficiency, cold chain solutions and other off-grid energy applications.

For the 2026 edition, successful applicants will receive between $200,000 and $1 million in blended financing, structured as a combination of non-dilutive and commercial funding instruments.

Focus on local innovation and economic opportunity

Speaking at the launch, Innovation Hub Manager, Sele Inegbedion, said the Challenge was created on the belief that solutions to Nigeria's energy challenges already exist within the country's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Off-Grid Energy Challenge exists because we believe the solutions to Nigeria's energy problems already live within Nigeria, in the minds and hands of our entrepreneurs. Our role is to find them, back them, and walk with them as they grow.

— Sele Inegbedion, Innovation Hub Manager, All On

This year, we are doing that with more capital and more conviction than ever before. If you are building something that brings light and economic opportunity to communities that have been left behind, we want to hear from you.

— Sele Inegbedion, Innovation Hub Manager, All On

The 2026 competition places particular emphasis on projects that promote the productive use of energy by converting electricity access into economic opportunities across sectors such as agricultural processing, cold storage, healthcare and small businesses.

It also prioritises innovations in mini-grids, solar home systems, solutions across the off-grid value chain, as well as interventions designed to improve outcomes for women and young people.

Track record and support for beneficiaries

The company disclosed that since the programme was launched in 2018, it has committed $3.6 million to 36 Nigerian-owned companies, whose projects have provided clean energy access to more than 150,000 Nigerians.

Beyond financial support, beneficiaries of the 2026 edition will also receive technical assistance and investment-readiness support from the All On Hub team to strengthen their businesses and improve their chances of scaling.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of All On, Caroline Eboumbou, said the country's off-grid energy sector had consistently demonstrated the impact of patient and flexible investment in driving sustainable development.

Nigeria's off-grid energy sector has proven, year after year, that the right kind of support that is patient, flexible, and rooted in deep market understanding, can produce transformational outcomes.

— Caroline Eboumbou, Chief Executive Officer, All On

The Off-Grid Energy Challenge is one of the most direct expressions of what All On stands for: putting serious capital behind entrepreneurs who are dedicated to solving one of our country's most pressing challenges.

— Caroline Eboumbou, Chief Executive Officer, All On

Eligibility and company background

According to the organisers, eligible applicants must be majority Nigerian-owned and managed for-profit private companies legally registered and operating in Nigeria.

They added that proposals must demonstrate innovation, present a credible plan to serve unserved or underserved communities, and show a commercially viable business model capable of sustaining operations within a 12 to 18-month investment period.

All On, an independent impact investing company seeded by Shell, provides debt and equity financing as well as non-financial support to Nigerian renewable energy companies working to expand access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for low-income households and small businesses across the country.