Nomba, a financial services company for African businesses, and Synafare, a fintech powering financing for the renewable energy sector, have announced a N2 billion commitment to expand access to capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopting solar energy across Nigeria.
The commitment builds on more than a year of collaboration between the two companies. Under the partnership, Nomba lends directly to SMEs acquiring renewable energy equipment, using Synafare’s origination and merchant-vetting network to identify and qualify borrowers.
To date, the partnership has disbursed over ₦500 million to ten SMEs, helping them acquire solar panels, inverters, and batteries. Every loan disbursed under the programme is currently performing, with a 0% non-performing loan rate and no defaults recorded to date.
“At Nomba, we’ve built our credit business on a simple principle: lend responsibly, and lend directly, so the value reaches the merchant without unnecessary friction. Our partnership with Synafare has shown what that looks like in one of Nigeria’s most important sectors, solar energy access. Committing N2 billion to scale this model is a statement of confidence in Nigerian SMEs and in what we’ve built together with Synafare,” said Yinka Adewale, CEO of Nomba.
“Every business we work with wants solar power equipment to run and grow their operations, but the upfront cost of solar products is often out of reach. What Nomba’s direct financing has done, through the businesses we originate and vet, is close that gap. This ₦2 billion commitment lets us bring that same impact to a much larger group of Nigerian SMEs,” said Tobi Esho, CEO of Synafare.
The partnership pairs Synafare’s origination network with Nomba’s direct lending capability. Synafare identifies, vets, and pre-qualifies SMEs seeking to acquire solar power, then submits their application and KYC documentation to Nomba, which independently assesses each business and, where approved, disburses a loan directly to them, with loan sizes averaging ₦50 million and reaching up to ₦100 million per merchant. Synafare then manages collection of repayments back to Nomba, combining sector-specific origination expertise with Nomba’s credit infrastructure and balance sheet.
The financing covers the full range of solar assets these SMEs need to power their operations, including panels, inverters, and batteries, helping the transition to renewable energy more affordable.
The partnership has demonstrated the potential of financing productive assets to help SMEs become more productive.
The N2 billion commitment is also a starting point for a broader strategy at Nomba to finance productive assets that can help Nigerian businesses grow. The company’s recent financing announcement with Globus is part of this broader direction, as Nomba continues to explore ways to connect its lending capabilities to the assets businesses need to operate and expand.
Scaling the model will require more than deploying additional capital. Nomba and Synafare will scale capital alongside their ability to identify, assess and support suitable SMEs, while maintaining the quality of origination and underwriting needed for responsible growth. The immediate focus is on deepening the markets and merchant segments the companies already understand, while continuing to learn from the solar financing programme.
Under the new commitment, the companies are targeting approximately 300 SMEs over 24 months, with loan sizes varying based on each business’s size and needs. For Nomba and Synafare, success will not be measured simply by deploying N2 billion, but by putting that capital into productive assets for a meaningful number of SMEs and seeing those businesses become more productive as a result.